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New Delhi, India
For assembly elections in Indiaâs western state of Gujarat and northern state of Himachal Pradesh, the numbers are in and the verdict will be out on December 8. Prior to that, the informed guesswork on who will claim the power in these states concluded on the evening of December 5 in the form of Exit Polls.
While the most Exit Polls concluded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party will retain the power in both the states, they also asserted that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will gain significant vote share translating into enough number of seats required to claim the status of a national party.
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The projections vary to as many as 21 seats and as few as 1 seat of 182 assembly seats in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
AAP may become national party on Dec 8
Aam Aadmi Party requires just two seats to claim the National Party status in India and the Exit Poll projections make it imminent.
According to the Election Commission (EC), political parties are listed as ânational partyâ, âstate partyâ or âregistered (unrecognised) partyâ. The conditions for being listed as a national or a state party are specified under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
To be a national party, according to Indiaâs Election Commissionâs rules,a party has to fulfil any of the three following conditions: they should win two per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states or it should poll six per cent of the total votes in an Assembly election. In addition, they must have four Lok Sabha seats and it should be recognised as a state party in at least four states.
What does being a National Party mean in India?
Once recognised as a national party, it is entitled to a reserved symbol for its candidates from across the country.
Besides, candidates are entitled to get dedicated broadcast slots on public broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio during the general elections.
A ânational partyâ also gets the benefit of having a maximum of 40 âstar campaignersâ during a general election. The ânational partyâ status also means a government bungalow in New Delhi for its national president and office space at a subsidised rate in the national capital.
At present, Indiaâs Election Commission recognises eight outfits as national parties â the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the National Peopleâs Party (NPP).