THE Aam Aadmi Party was recognised as a national party while the Trinamool Congress, NCP and the CPI were stripped of the coveted status by the Election Commission on Monday. In separate orders, the Commission also revoked the state party status granted to RLD in Uttar Pradesh, BRS in Andhra Pradesh, PDA (Manipur), PMK (Puducherry), RSP (West Bengal) and MPC (Mizoram). The NCP also lost the State party status in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya. The country now has six national parties – BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), CPI(M), National People’s Party (NPP) and AAP. Election Commission officials said, the parties can regain their national and State party status based on their performance in future electoral cycles as also the Lok Sabha elections due next year. The announcement of national party status for AAP comes a week after the Karnataka High Court directed the Commission to pass an order before April 13 on the matter.

 

AAP was formed by Arvind Kejriwal in 2012 and went on to sweep the Delhi Assembly elections in 2015 and Punjab in 2022. “National party in such a short time? This is nothing less than a miracle. Many congratulations to all. Crores of people from the country have taken us here. People expect a lot from us.Today people have given us this huge responsibility. Lord, bless us to fulfill thisresponsibility well,” AAP convenor and Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said. Reacting to the ECannouncement, CPI National Secretary Binoy Biswam said, “National recognition is of course important from a technical point of view. CPI’s recognition is in the hearts of the toiling masses. It is built up withthe blood, sweat and tears of the fighting people. The partywill intensify its battle fordemocracy, secularism andsocialism.” Trinamool Congress sourcessaid, the party was exploringlegal options to challenge theElection Commission decision