In significant decisions that have ramifications for national polity, the Election Commission on Monday recognised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party and withdrew this recognition from Nationalist Congress Party, CPI and Trinamool Congress.
While AAP leaders hailed the national party status, Trinamool Congress Saugata Roy said the party has fought many obstacles and “will overcome this too”. The EC decision came amid the campaign for Karnataka assembly polls and months before assembly polls in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh due by the end of this year.
The loss of national party status is a setback for both NCP and Trinamool Congress. The ruling party in Bengal has clear national ambitions with party leaders apparently keen that party supremo Mamata Banerjee emerges as a prime ministerial candidate.
The decision will also have a bearing in terms of opposition efforts to forge a united front to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. While the decision has increased the political heft of AAP, it has seemingly affected NCP and Trinamool Congress in the perception battle. NCP chief Sharad Pawar is among the seniormost opposition leaders.
In other decisions, the Election Commission gave recognition to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) as a state party in Nagaland and Tipra Motha Party was recognised as a state party in Tripura. Bharat Rashtra Samithi has been derecognised as a state party in Andhra Pradesh.
The poll panel also withdrew the state party status of Rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh and of Revolutionary Socialist Party in West Bengal.
The Voice of the People Party got recognition as a state party in Meghalaya.
Tipra Motha Party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Voice of the People Party got recognition as state parties based on their recent performance in the assembly polls earlier this year in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya respectively.
AAP rules Delhi and Punjab and it got national party status also based on its performance in Gujarat and Goa. It is a recognised state party in Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat and Goa.
AAP has been looking for a national footprint and has contested polls in several states.
AAP leaders including Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party congratulated party workers over the decision.
Kejriwal said the party’s achievement in “such a short time” is “nothing less than a miracle”.