Indian EC revokes TMC’s national party status

In a setback for West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, India's Election Commission yesterday revoked its status as a national party.

Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was elevated to a national party.

The EC also withdrew the national party status of Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Communist Party of India (CPI), reported our New Delhi correspondent.

Last week, the Karnataka High Court directed the ECI to pass appropriate orders regarding the national party status of AAP by April 13.

The EC said AAP has been named a national party based on its performance in assembly elections in Delhi, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat. The party is in power in Delhi and Punjab. The AAP got 6.77 percent of the total vote share in the assembly poll held in Goa in March last year. The party won five seats in the Gujarat assembly elections held last year.

The ECI, in July 2019, issued show-cause notices to the TMC, NCP and CPI, asking them to reply why their national party status should not be revoked after their performance in the previous Lok Sabha elections that year.

Under paragraph 6B of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, a party is eligible for the national party status if it is a recognised state party in four or more states and if its candidates get at least six percent of the total valid votes polled in four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or assembly election.

Moreover, a national party must have at least four MPs elected in the last Lok Sabha election or it must win at least two percent of the total Lok Sabha seats in at least three states.

At present, the TMC has 23 Lok Sabha members and five members in Meghalaya assembly. But the party failed to win a single seat in Tripura and Goa.

The party failed to meet the other criteria for being a national party, according to the Indian EC.  

The EC decision would be a blow to the TMC aspirations to go national and weaken Mamata's position as a prime ministerial candidate.

Earlier, there were seven national parties in India - Trinamool, Bahujan Samaj Party, BJP, CPI, CPI (Marxist), Congress and NCP.

Now, with NCP, Trinamool and CPI removed and the addition of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP to the list, the country has five national parties.