National party status
New Delhi: The CPI, TMC and the NCP on Monday urged the Election Commission (EC) not to take away their national party status, saying they should be given a fresh opportunity to improve their electoral performance.
The three told the Commission that they are old parties and have played a key role in national politics. Hence, their status should not be based on recent electoral performance only. The parties had appeared before the Commission for a personal hearing on Monday.
Earlier, responding to a show cause notice, the three had told the poll panel that their national party status should not be revoked based on their performance in the Lok Sabha elections this year.
The EC had earlier issued them notices asking why their ‘national party’ status should not be revoked following their performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The CPI is learnt to have said that after the Congress, it is the oldest party in the country which had been the principal opposition party in Lok Sabha. The Left party said though it may not have fared well in the recent Lok Sabha elections, it has been in power in several states and has played a key role in strengthening the Constitution.
The TMC is learnt to have said that it was given national party status in 2014 and it should be allowed to continue with it at least till 2024. (PTI)