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EC recognises 13 state parties

Thirteen new parties have become eligible for recognition as state parties by the Election Commission following their performance in the Lok Sabha election.

These parties also include the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Shiv Sena, which are already recognised as state parties in the Union Territory of Pondicherry and Maharashtra respectively. Now they have also become eligible for recognition as state parties in Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli respectively.

The 13 parties which have become eligible for recognition as state parties and their symbols are: the United Minorities Front of Assam (party asked to convey its preference of symbol), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (Bihar and Manipur, hurricane lamp), the All India Rashtriya Janata Party (Gujarat, trumpet), the Haryana Lok Dal Rashtriya (Haryana, spectacles), the Lok Shakti (Karnataka and Nagaland, coconut tree bearing fruits), the Manipur State Congress Party (Manipur, party asked to convey its preference of symbol), the Biju Janata Dal (Orissa, conch), the Pattali Makkal Katchi (Tamil Nadu, party asked to convey its preference of symbol), the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Tamil Nadu, top), West Bengal Trinamul Congress (flowers and grass), the Indian Congress Socialist (Andaman and Nicobar islands, charkha), the Samajwadi Janata Party Rashtriya (Chandigarh, party asked to convey its preference of symbol), the Shiv Sena (Dadra and Nagar Haveli, bow and arrow).

It is a normal practice to review the poll performance of political parties after every general election to ascertain whether each of the contesting parties have, by virtue of their performance, qualified to gain or lose recognition.

The review is conducted by the Election Commission under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 to determine whether any of the registered un-recognised political parties have become eligible for recognition as national or state parties.

The criterion for recognition of political parties is laid down in the 1968 order. Recognition entitles the party to keep an exclusive symbol for its use in the states/ Union Territories where it has gained recognition.

The other conditions are: a political party should have been engaged in political activity for a continuous period of five years and returned either at least one member to the house of the people for every twentyfive members of that house or any fraction of that number elected from that state or at least one member of the state legislative assembly of that state for every thirty members of that assembly or any fraction of that number; or the total number of valid votes polled by all the contesting candidates set up by a political party should not be less that six per cent of the total number of valid votes polled by all the contesting candidates at such general elections in that state.

UNI

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