Conditions for Recognition as a State Party

At present (2019), a party is recognised as a state party in a state if any of the following conditions is fulfilled5 :

1. If it secures six per cent of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned; and, in addition, it wins 2 seats in the assembly of the state concerned; or

2. If it secures six per cent of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned; and, in addition, it wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha from the state concerned; or

3. If it wins three per cent of seats in the legislative assembly at a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned or 3 seats in the assembly, whichever is more; or

4. If it wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction thereof allotted to the state at a general election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned; or

5. If it secures eight per cent of the total valid votes polled in the state at a General Election to the Lok Sabha from the state or to the legislative assembly of the state. This condition was added in 2011.

The number of recognised parties keeps on changing on the basis of their performance in the general elections. On the eve of the seventeenth Lok Sabha general elections (2019), there were 7 national parties, 52 state parties and 2354 registered- unrecognised parties in the country6. The national parties and state parties are also known as all-India parties and regional parties respectively.

Table 69.1 Recognised National Parties and State Parties (First to Seventeenth General Elections)