Trinamool Congress, NCP, CPI may lose national party status as Election Commission issues notice

National status of some of the political parties holds in the balance as they performed miserably in the recently held Lok Sabha Elections 2019. And now the Election Commission has reportedly sent them a show cause notice asking them to explain why their national party status should not be revoked.

Sources in the Election Commission said that these parties have been asked to respond to the notice by August 5. The parties who have received the notice are the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI).

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the NCP had won six seats. This time it won five. It also did not do well in the Maharashtra assembly polls. Similarly, the Trinamool won 34 seats in 2014 LS polls and managed 22 this time. The CPI won two in this election and one in 2014. But its performance in West Bengal and other states in assembly polls was dismal.

The CPI, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the NCP were facing the prospects of losing their national party status after their dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well.

However, they got a reprieve when in 2016 the election watchdog amended its rules, whereby national and state party status of political parties are to be reviewed every 10 years instead of five.

Mayawati-led-BSP, which won 10 Lok Sabha and some assembly seats, does not face the possibility of losing its national party status now.

According to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, a political party can be recognised as a national party if its candidates secure at least six per cent of votes polled in four or more states in Lok Sabha or assembly elections, and, in addition, it has at least four members in the Lok Sabha.

It also should have at least two per cent of the total Lok Sabha seats and its candidates come from not less than three states. As of now, TMC, BJP, BSP, CPI, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress (INC), NCP and National People's Party of Meghalaya have national party status.

With PTI Inputs