7 recognised National, 59 recognised State and 2301 registered unrecognised Political Party, Election Commission reveals

World’s biggest democracy India is going for 17th Lok Sabha Election from April 11. Indian National Congress, BJP, Janta Dal, CPM, CPI, SP, BSP, TMC, DMK, AIDMK, Telgu Desham Party, Akali Dal, PDP, AAP etc. are few prominent names in the political setup of the country, however, as per the Election Commission of India latest report there are over 2367 political parties registered with the commission.

It’s pertinent to mention that there are 545 Lok Sabha seats and 4120 legislative seats in 31 State Legislative Assemblies (including Delhi and Puducherry) in India.

Seven political parties Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Nationalist Congress Party and All India Trinamool Congress are recognized national parties, while there are 59 recognised state parties prominent are Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Telgu Desham, Asom Gana Parishad, Janata Dal (United), Lok Jan Shakti Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal, Indian National Lok Dal, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, PDP, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Shiv Sena, Aam Aadmi party, Mizo National Front, Biju Janata Dal, DMK, AIDMK, Shiromani Akali Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front , Samajwadi Party, Forward Block, who are keeping democracy of the country alive.

As per Election Commission of India latest information the commission has 2301 registered unrecognised Political Parties.

The difference between recognized and unrecognized is that registered unrecognised political parties do not have the privilege of contesting elections on a fixed symbol of their own. They have to choose from a list of ”free symbols” issued by the poll panel. As per the latest Election Commission circular, there are 198 such free symbols available currently.