Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a huge step towards becoming a national party after recording a thumping victory in Punjab’s assembly elections 2022 on Monday, its first win in a State outside New Delhi. In only two hours of vote-counting, AAP candidates left behind heavyweights Navjot Singh Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi of Congress, and by noon had a little over 90 seats under their belt.
Eligibility for a national party
In order to be recognised as a national party, a party must first be recognised as a State party in at least four States. According to the Election Commission of India, a party should maintain a consistent vote share of 6% of total number of valid votes polled by all the contesting candidates in Assembly elections and have a representation of one MLA for every thirty MLAs in the House, for it to be recognised as a State party. Click here to read the full eligibility criteria for a State party.
AAP MLA Raghav Chadha was confident that AAP would become a national party sooner than later. “The Punjab elections show that AAP has emerged as a national political force. It took BJP 10 years to form their first government in a state. Not even 10 years since AAP’s inception & we’re forming government in two states”, added the MLA from Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi.
After today’s victory in Punjab, AAP needs to add two more States with more than 6% vote share to its portfolio, which it can do in 2023 when Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Telangana, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura legislative assembly elections take place.
As of now, the Election Commission of India recognizes Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and National Congress Party as national parties.
