The Election Commission will start hearing views of the Janata Dal (United), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Trinamool Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) from July on the show cause notice issued to them.
The Commission has asked them to explain why their recognition in some States should not be withdrawn as they failed to fulfil conditions for being declared as a State party. The Arunachal Congress too got the notice and will be heard. The notice was served based on the parties' performance in elections since last year.
The EC will hear on July 2 the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a “national party.” It was given notice for failing to fulfil the conditions for a “national party” status in view of its poor performance in the Jharkhand Assembly polls last year.
Informed sources said the parties could utilise the “personal hearing” opportunity, granted after their requests, by sending either their office-bearers or legal counsel and their views would be recorded by the full Commission — Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla and Election Commissioners S.Y. Quraishi and V.S. Sampath.
The EC wanted to be fair and hear the parties before taking any decision. “The election records themselves speak on the issue,” the sources said adding that there were precedents where recognition was withheld owing to poor poll performance.
As per the EC rules, for getting recognition as a State party – (A) the party should be engaged in political activity continuously for five years; and has at the last general election in that State to the Lok Sabha/Legislative Assembly, returned – either at least one member to the Lok Sabha for every 25 of that House or any fraction of that number from that State; or at least one member to the Assembly for every 30 members of that Assembly or any fraction of that number; or (B) that the total number of valid votes polled by all the candidates of such party at the last general election to the Lok Sabha/Assembly of that State is not less than 6 per cent of the total number of valid votes polled by all candidates.
Any party recognised in four or more States would be declared as a “national party” so long as it fulfils the conditions in each State. The RJD is now recognised in Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland.
The JD(U), a recognised party in Bihar and Jharkhand, has been given notice in relation to its performance in Jharkhand. For the SP, it will be for Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand and it will continue as a State party in Uttar Pradesh. For the Trinamool Congress, the notice is for Meghalaya and it will continue as the State party in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh. For the JMM, it is for Orissa and will continue its recognition in Jharkhand.
For the MDMK, a recognised party only in Tamil Nadu, the notice was given in view of it not fulfilling the conditions for recognition in that State. The PMK got the notice for its performance in Puducherry. However, it will continue as a State party in Tamil Nadu.
