NEW DELHI: Three national parties — the Nationalist Congress Party, the Trinamool and the Communist Party of India — are staring at the possibility of losing their ‘national’ status following their performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Election Commission on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to these parties asking them to explain why their national party status should not be revoked, sources said.
They have been asked to respond to the notice by August 5.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the NCP had won six seats. This time its tally came down to five. It had also fared badly in the Maharashtra Assembly polls.
Similarly, the Trinamool, which won 34 seats in the 2014 LS elections, managed only 22 this time. The CPI won two in this election and one in 2014.
But its performance in West Bengal and other states in the Assembly polls was dismal.
The CPI, the BSP and the NCP were facing the prospects of losing their national party status after their dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well.
However, they got a reprieve when in 2016 the EC amended its rules, whereby national and state party status of political parties are to be reviewed every 10 years instead of five.