National parties to be stripped off their status

Very soon India will be left with only three national parties with Nationalist Congress Party led by Sharad Pawar, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and Communist Party of India set to be stripped of their national status.

A show-cause notice to the three parties was served by the Election Commission of India (ECI) about two weeks ago, seeking explanation on why their national party status should not be withdrawn after their rout in the Lok Sabha elections.

A `national party’ needs to get at least 6% votes each from minimum four states, or get 2% of total seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three states, or it should be a recognized as a state party in at least four states, according to the criteria set by the poll panel.

BSP, NCP and CPI no longer fulfill any of the above conditions.

The three parties had time till June 27 to contest EC’s move and seek a hearing. If they are derecognized, then Congress, BJP and CPI (M) will be the only political parties that will keep it up to enjoy the national tag.

Under the Symbols Order 1968, a party, on losing the national status, does not have the right to fight elections using a common symbol across the country.

In other words, if the verdict is implemented, the analogue clock symbol will not be reserved for all NCP candidates across the country. It can make use of it only in states where it is recognized as a state party.
This is equal to losing the national character of the party.

Besides, NCP, BSP and CPI could lose facilities like utilizing Doordarshan and All India Radio for poll-eve broadcasts and free copies of electoral rolls, which they enjoyed as national parties.