Question

What is meant by regional political party? State the conditions required to be recognised as a regional political party.

Answer 1

Hint: One of the most dominant features of Indian democracy is the multi-party system which means that there are a large number of parties competing to attain power both at the national and state level. The legislature in states is composed of the State Legislative Assembly (and the State Legislative Council in certain states). Over the years there has been a rise of regional parties that has transformed the nature of electoral politics in India.

Complete step by step solution:
Regional political parties represent specific regions in a state and contest elections for the state legislative assemblies. At present, there are 53 recognised state parties and several unrecognised state parties as well. Some examples of such are—Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, All India United Democratic Front in Assam, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham in Tamil Nadu, Janata dal United in Bihar, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand, Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, etc.
For a party to be recognised as a state party, it has one of the following conditions:
It should win at least 6% of valid votes polled and at least 2 seats in a state legislative assembly election or it should win 3% of the total number of seats or a minimum of 3 seats whichever is higher in a state legislative assembly election. Moreover, if the party secures at least 6% of valid votes polled and wins at least 1 seat in the Lok Sabha elections, it can be recognised as a state party.

Note: Members are elected to the State Legislative Assembly directly by voting, from amongst the candidates that stand in each respective constituency. Candidates who win said seats to the Legislative Assembly become Member of Legislative Assembly (or MLA) and hold it for a term of five years. The leader of the party or coalition (a group of parties) with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly becomes the Chief Minister of the state.