AAP granted national party status; Trinamool Congress to challenge EC's decision
New Delhi, April 11: The Election Commission on late Monday evening announced a set of decisions with a major implication on the national political landscape.
The Election Commission recognised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party, while withdrawing the status from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Trinamool Congress. Upon the news, AAP leaders celebrated their new status, while the Trinamool Congress expressed that they will continue with their work and will overcome the loss of the tag.
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The recognition given to AAP, as well as the derecognition of NCP and Trinamool Congress, is likely to have a substantial impact on the opposition's efforts to form a united front to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The poll panel also granted the status of a state party to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland, the Tipra Motha Party in Tripura, and the Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya. In addition to this, the panel withdrew the state party status of Rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh and the Revolutionary Socialist Party in West Bengal.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal expressed gratitude for the decision, noting that it was a "miracle" and "people expect a lot" from the party. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP MP Raghav Chadha also lauded the decision, with Chadha calling the party "India's fastest-growing political startup".
However, Trinamool Congress has stated that they are exploring legal actions to challenge the decision of the Election Commission. Senior leader Saugata Roy said that the party will continue with their work and will overcome the loss of the tag. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took a jibe at the party, asking when will they remove "All India" from their name, All India Trinamool Congress.
The decision of the Election Commission came after the Karnataka High Court directed Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to pass an order before April 13 regarding the national party status of AAP. The petition was filed in Karnataka HC by Prithvi Reddy, the convenor of the AAP Karnataka unit. With the new status, the national parties now include the BJP, Indian National Congress, AAP, Bahujan Samaj Party and CPI (Marxist).
- ANI
