Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 6: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking a direction from the court to the Election Commission of India for recognising the AAP as a national party at the earliest.
The petition, filed by AAP Karnataka convenor Prithvi Reddy, stated that the party fulfils all the criteria for becoming a national party, but has been denied the status by the Election Commission of India (ECI) so far. The petitioner also pointed out that the delay in giving it the recognition of a national party was impeding the party’s ability to contest the elections.
It sought the court’s direction at the earliest so that the party could participate in the Karnataka state Assembly elections scheduled next month as a national party.
According to the ECI guidelines, a party can be recognised as a national party if it secures at least 6 per cent of the valid votes polled in four or more states in a general election or assembly election and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha from any state or states; or if it wins at least 2 per cent of the total Lok Sabha seats in a general election from at least three different states; or if it is recognised as a state party in at least four states.
The petition said the AAP had met the requirements with its performance in the last round of elections held in Delhi, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat. The petition alleges that the ECI has been delaying the recognition of AAP as a national party despite repeated requests and representations from the party. The petition has requested the court to direct the Election Commission to grant national party status to AAP within a specified time frame.
Last week, while announcing the dates for the Karnataka election, the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had said giving the AAP status as a national-level political organisation was “under review.” The AAP, however, expressed its frustration with the delay. “Even a class 10 student would give you the answer if you ask whether the AAP should get national status or not as per rules,” AAP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sanjay Singh had said.
“I don’t know what the Election Commission is doing,” Singh said giving vent to the party’s frustration. “I urge the Election Commission to immediately give AAP a national party status and also ensure that we get all facilities in Karnataka polls that any national party is entitled to,” Singh said.
The AAP has announced it wanted to contest the next month’s Karnataka assembly election. The party says that getting national party status would help it in campaigning and mobilising support across the state.