Election Commission withdraws national party status of Trinamool Congress, NCP, and CPI

10-04-2023 : On Monday, the Election Commission of India announced that it has withdrawn the national party status of Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party headed by Sharad Pawar, and the Communist Party of India. This decision was made following their failure to meet the criteria for national party status. On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal was recognised as a national party based on its electoral performance in four states – Delhi, Goa, Punjab, and Gujarat. Currently, only the BJP, Congress, CPI(M), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), National People’s Party (NPP), and the AAP hold the national party status.

Furthermore, the state party status granted to RLD in Uttar Pradesh, BRS in Andhra Pradesh, PDA in Manipur, PMK in Puducherry, RSP in West Bengal, and MPC in Mizoram has also been revoked. As a result, the parties that lost their national status will not be given a common symbol in states where they are not recognised. To attain national party status, a political party must be recognised as a state party in at least four states or should have a minimum of two per cent seats in Lok Sabha.