New Delhi: In a significant development, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has stripped the Communist Party of India (CPI), Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of their ‘national party’ status. They will be treated henceforth as regional parties.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is now in power in Delhi and Punjab, has been granted the ‘national party’ status.While in the case of AAP, the newly-assigned status will help advance its case that it is the only alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level given that the Congress party is in a moribund state.However, the change in the status of TMC, NCP, and CPI will be perceived negatively, for it will be seen as the downgrading of their stock on the national political landscape. This is particularly true in the case of TMC given that it wants to expand its footprint beyond its home state of West Bengal.The ECI’s latest order comes in response to the show-cause notices issued to TMC, CPI, and NCP in July 2019, which had specifically sought an explanation on why their national party status should not be revoked, after their performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, according to Indian Express.According to Para 6B of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, a party is eligible to be considered as a national party if it is a recognised state party in four or more states; if its candidates polled at least 6% 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% of the total Lok Sabha seats in at least three states.While the ECI’s decision maybe technical in nature, the change in party status is expected to play out in a big way politically with opposition time and again accusing the poll body of working at the behest of the BJP-led Union government.The poll body has also revoked the state party status granted to Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Andhra Pradesh, People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) in Manipur, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) in Puducherry, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in West Bengal and Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) in Mizoram.Note: This is a developing story, and it will be updated as soon as new information trickles in.
