What Election Commission Chief Said When Asked About AAP's 'National Party' Status

The Election Commission today said it is looking into the issue of according the national status to the Aam Aadmi Party.

"It is under review... We will soon come back to you," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference here when asked about the issue.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party's electoral performances last year paved the way for it to be recognised by the Election Commission as a national party.

To earn a national party status, a political outfit needs to be recognised as state party in four states and have at least two members in the respective legislative assemblies, according to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) order, 1968.

And in order become eligible to be recognised as the state party, a political outfit has to win two seats and secures a minimum six per cent votes in the state.

There are other criteria also to earn the national party status.

The AAP has been recognised as a state party Delhi, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat.

The AAP stormed to power in Punjab winning 92 of the 117 assembly seats, recording a stupendous victory in the state assembly polls last year. It was anyway already recognised as a state party in the state.

in Goa, it bagged two seats and secured an overall vote share of 6.77 per cent, leading to its recognition as a state party in the coastal state.

By the end of the 2022, the AAP's national ambition got wings as it won five seats and secured an overall vote share of 13 percent in the Gujarat assembly polls, which was enough for the AAP to be recognised as the state party.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)