AAP now national party; TMC, NCP and CPI lose the tag

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has earned the national party status while the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) have lost the tag.

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday recognised the AAP as a national party and withdrew the same status of the TMC, NCP and CPI.

The EC, in an order issued on Monday, also revoked the state party status granted to RLD in Uttar Pradesh, BRS in Andhra Pradesh, PDA in Manipur, PMK in Puducherry, RSP in West Bengal and MPC in Mizoram.

The Commission said the AAP has been named as a national party based on its electoral performance in four states - Delhi, Goa, Punjab and Gujarat.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party is in power in Delhi and Punjab.

The poll panel said that the status of NCP, CPI and the Trinamool Congress as national political parties would be withdrawn.

With the latest development, there are only six national parties - the BJP, Congress, CPI(M), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), National People's Party (NPP) and the AAP - in the country.

The Commission said that NCP and Trinamool Congress will be recognised as state parties in Nagaland and Meghalaya respectively based on their performance in the recently concluded assembly elections.

It also granted "recognised state political party" status to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland, Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya and the Tipra Motha in Tripura.

Meanwhile, the party's national convener Kejriwal expressed his happiness over the development and said that the country has given them a huge responsibility.

"National party in such a short time? This is nothing less than a miracle. Many congratulations to all. Crores of people of the country have taken us here. People expect a lot from us. Today people have given us this huge responsibility. Lord, bless us to fulfill this responsibility well," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

"It's a big thing for us. This wouldn't have been possible without people's support. People are with us. We want God to give strength to Arvind Kejriwal to keep on moving forward," said Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on ECI granting national party status to AAP.

AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj expressed his happiness over the development and said, "It's a big thing for us. This wouldn't have been possible without people's support. People are with us. We want God to give strength to Arvind Kejriwal to keep on moving forward."

With inputs from PTI