Number of political parties in India 2024, by type

As of May 2023, India had six national political parties, in addition to over fifty state parties and over two thousand unrecognized parties. The criteria for defining national and state-level political parties is set by the Election Commission of India.

Criteria for national players

A registered party is considered a national party if it fulfills one of the three criteria, namely, securing two percent of Lok Sabha seats from at least three states; six percent of votes in four states and four Lok Sabha seats, or if the party is recognized as a state party in four or more states of the country. It is, therefore, determined after Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly elections, if political parties gain a national status or lose it. Aam Admi Party (AAP) was the latest addition to the list of national parties. On the other hand, in April 2023, the Election Commission revoked the national party status of three former national parties- the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Communist Party of India (CPI). A different set of criteria are applicable for state-level parties.

What are the registered unrecognized parties (RUPPs)?

  To form a political party, an association has to get registered with the Election Commission and could fall under either recognized or unrecognized categories. Recognition comes with benefits such as reserving a party symbol or free broadcast rights over government media such as Doordarshan, more allowances for campaign expenditure, etc. However, all registered parties whether recognized or unrecognized are entitled to collect donations which are exempt from taxes. However, a majority of unrecognized parties are under ECI’s scanner for flouting rules. A number of them did not contest elections or file annual statements and some were found to be involved in financial impropriety. Some were even delisted for being non-existent. In 2022, the income tax authorities conducted raids over tax evasion by these parties.