MC Explains | AAP becomes a national party. What does it mean?

A view of Election Commission of India office, in New Delhi. (Image- PTI)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 10 granted national party status to the Aam Aadmi Party and derecognized three existing national parties - All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Communist Party of India (CPI).

The decision was taken after reviewing the performance of both national and state political parties during the two general election cycles in 2014 and 2019, as well as 21 state assembly elections. According to an ECI official, the three national parties were provided sufficient time to participate in more state assembly elections to maintain their status.

Last week, the Karnataka High Court directed Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to issue an order before April 13, announcing national party status for the Aam Aadmi Party, which currently governs two states, Delhi and Punjab.

With the removal of the AITC, NCP, and CPI, only six parties will now be recognized as national parties: AAP, BJP, Congress, National People’s Party, CPM, and BSP.

MC Explains

What does it mean for AAP?

The Aam Adami Party (AAP) has recently been granted national party status, which means that it now has a presence in multiple states across India. This new status comes with a range of benefits, including access to public broadcasting airtime for election campaigns, office space, and membership of consultative committees within the government.

To be recognized as a national party, a political party must fulfill certain criteria laid out by the Election Commission of India (ECI). These include being recognized in at least four states, polling at least six percent of the total valid votes in any four or more states in Lok Sabha or assembly elections, and having at least four members of parliament.

The AAP met all of these requirements after the Gujarat Assembly elections in December 2022, where it won five seats with a 12.9 percent vote share. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the party, which was formed ten years ago.

Reacting to the news, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his gratitude to the people of India and called it a "miracle". He acknowledged the great responsibility that comes with being a national party and stated that the party is committed to fulfilling the expectations of the people.

Overall, this development is a significant achievement for the AAP, as it now has access to more resources and opportunities to promote its policies and ideologies. It remains to be seen how this new status will impact the party's future growth and success.

Deregistering of parties?

If a political party loses its status as a national party, it can no longer contest elections using a common symbol across the country. According to the rules of the Election Commission of India (ECI), these three national parties will only be able to use their election symbol in states where they are recognized as a state party.

Furthermore, the party would lose certain privileges and benefits that are exclusively available to national parties, such as free airtime and the right to field candidates in more constituencies than other parties in elections.

The ECI rules stipulate that the national and state party status of political parties must be reviewed every ten years.