The Election Commission (EC) held hearings on Tuesday for the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Communist Party of India (CPI), and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to determine if they should be permitted to keep their national party status, according to two EC sources on Wednesday.
In July 2019, the EC issued show-cause notices to the three parties, asking why their national party status should not be revoked in light of their performance in the year’s Lok Sabha elections. Resuming the proceedings, the EC summoned the three parties on Tuesday.
Under Para 6B of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, a party is eligible to be considered a national party if it is a recognised state party in four or more states; if its candidates polled at least 6 per cent of the valid votes in four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly election and it has at least four MPs elected in the last election; or if it wins at least 2 per cent of the total Lok Sabha seats in at least three states.
According to sources, the evaluation of the national party status was conducted in accordance with Paragraph 6C of the order, which specifies that the continuation of recognition as a national party is contingent on the fulfilment of the conditions outlined in Paragraph 6B.
Six state parties had also received notices from the EC regarding their continued recognition as state parties. According to an EC source, the six parties – the People’s Democratic Alliance, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Mizoram People’s Conference, Pattali Makkal Katchi, Revolutionary Socialist Party, and Rashtriya Lok Dal – have been summoned to appear for hearings on Monday. According to the source, while the People’s Democratic Alliance requested a new date and the Mizoram People’s Conference did not attend the hearing, the other four parties did.
To be recognised as a state party, a party must meet one of the following criteria: have at least 6% vote share in the last Assembly election and a minimum of two MLAs; or have a 6% vote share in the last Lok Sabha elections from that state and one MP from the state; or have at least 3% of the total seats or three seats, whichever is greater, in the last Assembly elections; or one MP for every 25 members of any fraction a party has.
