Kejriwal’s AAP a national party after Gujarat polls: How regional parties turn national?

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received a thorough drubbing in the Gujarat Assembly elections. Despite Kejriwal’s tall promises including potentially winning Narendra Modi’s bastion, Gujarat, AAP managed a lead in just around five seats in the state, with a 13 per cent vote share at the time this story was written. But the Gujarat election results have given AAP a status they have sought for a long – that of a national party. 

Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo tweeted a four-minute video congratulating AAP workers and supporters as his party became a national party. The Aam Aadmi Party was founded in 2012 against the backdrop of the India Against Corruption movement.

Ten years later, the party has been in government in Delhi for two consecutive terms and won Punjab earlier this year with a huge majority. The Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat elections have not gone AAP’s way, but the status of a national party will allow Kejriwal to pitch himself as a national leader, something he has been yearning to do since he founded AAP. 

What is a national party? 

The criteria for a regional party to become a national party is decided by the Election Commission of India (ECI). A party may lose or gain national party status according to ECI’s criteria. In order to become a national party, a regional party must fulfill the following criteria: 

• The party must be ‘recognised’ in at least four Indian states 
• Candidates of the party must have polled at least 6% votes in the previous Assembly or general election in at least four states
• The party must have 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha winning those from at least three states

How did AAP become a national party? 

With at least over 10 per cent of the vote in Gujarat, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP has now turned into a national party. This is because the Aam Aadmi Party now has over 6 per cent of votes in four states/UTs. 

While the party is in power in Delhi and Punjab and is likely to maintain over 10 per cent of the vote in Gujarat, AAP had also won over 6 per cent of the vote in the Goa Assembly polls. Thus, with over 6 per cent of the vote in four states, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP is now a national party.