The Election Commission has issued orders derecognising the Rashtriya Janata Dal as a national party as it failed to fulfil the criteria for such recognition.
The EC also withdrew recognition to the Janata Dal (United), the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Arunachal Congress in some States due to their poor poll performance.
It was a “unanimous decision” of the Commission. “We have a rule for giving recognition and we decided not to deviate from it,” Chief Election Commissioner Navin B. Chawla, who demitted office on Thursday, told The Hindu .
The derecognised parties would be considered “registered but not a recognised party.” They are bound to lose facilities and concessions hitherto enjoyed by them in those States where their recognition was withdrawn. They could not participate in official meetings of the recognised parties convened by the EC or the State Election Department, and could not seek votes through the state-owned Doordarshan or All India Radio during elections.
One of the recognition criteria is that all candidates fielded by parties should get at least six per cent of the total votes polled in the general election to the Lok Sabha/State Assembly.
The Commission earlier gave opportunities for the parties whose recognition was withdrawn to explain their position. But some of them did not turn up for the meetings.
The RJD, a recognised party in Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland, loses its “national party” recognition in view of its poor show in Jharkhand and ultimately it is derecognised in that State. For getting the “national party” status, it should be recognised as a State party in at least four States.
The Arunachal Congress lost its “State party” recognition in Arunachal Pradesh, the MDMK in Tamil Nadu and the PMK in Puducherry. However the PMK will continue to be a State party in Tamil Nadu. The JD (U), a recognised party in Bihar and Jharkhand, lost its recognition in Jharkhand. The SP lost “State party' recognition in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand and it will continue as a State party in Uttar Pradesh. The Trinamool Congress lost that status in Meghalaya and it will continue as a State party in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh. The JMM is no longer a State party in Orissa, but its recognition in Jharkhand will continue.
