ECI still reviewing AAP’s national party status

More than three months since the Aam Aadmi Party declared itself a national party, the Election Commission of India on Wednesday said it was still reviewing the party’s status.

Speaking to the media, chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said the poll body will soon come back to this. “The AAP’s national status is under the review of the commission. We will soon come back to you,” he said.

On December 8, then Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had announced that the AAP was “becoming a national party today”.

National convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also made a similar statement. The party made these claims after the results of the Gujarat assembly elections were declared.

At present, the AAP is the ruling party in Delhi and Punjab, and has bagged two seats in the Goa assembly polls along with 6.8 percent of the total votes. In August, the ECI said the AAP was a recognised party in Goa as well.

In December 2022, the AAP won five seats and secured an overall vote share of 13 percent in the Gujarat elections. The AAP also meets conditions to be a state party in Gujarat.

There are a number of rules that can make a party a state party and, eventually, a national party. One of the simplest rules for a political party to be treated as national is to be recognised in four or more states. If a party is treated as a recognised political party in less than four states, it is a “state party”.

Apart from getting recognition as a state party in four states, political parties can also become national parties if they get 6 percent vote share each in any four states in the previous assembly polls along with four seats in the previous Lok Sabha elections; or gets 2 percent of all Lok Sabha seats in the last general election with MPs elected from at least three states.