Recognised political party

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: Recognition of political parties · Topic: Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "Political Parties"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Election and Representation"

Meaning

A recognised political party is one that the ECI accepts as a national party or a state party because it has won enough votes or seats. Recognition is given under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968. The ECI issued this order using its powers under Article 324, and the Supreme Court upheld it in Sadiq Ali (1971). A recognised party gets:

  • a reserved symbol;
  • one proposer for each nomination instead of ten;
  • free copies of the electoral rolls;
  • free broadcast time on Doordarshan and AIR;
  • up to 40 star campaigners.

Example

After its order of 10 April 2023, the ECI recognised six national parties. The AAP became a national party, while the TMC, NCP and CPI lost that status. One test for national status is winning 6% of the votes in four or more states plus 4 Lok Sabha seats.

Don't confuse with

  • Registered unrecognised political party: a party that is registered under Section 29A but has not met the recognition tests. It gets no reserved symbol.

Related concepts

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