CHANDIGARH (The Stellar News): An Advocate at Punjab & Haryana High Court, Hemant Kumar, has written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, two Election Commissioners (ECs) viz. Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel and other senior officers at Election Commission of India (ECI) appealing for grant of Status of National Party to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Hemant asserted that since past one year, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which was till Sep, 2021 use to be State Party only in the State of Punjab and NCT of Delhi as per Notification issued by ECI dated 23 Sep 2021, however thereafter AAP firstly qualified to become a State Party in the State of Goa in March, 2022 on the basis of its performance in State Assembly General Elections ( by obtaining more than 6 % of Total Valid Votes polled in the State and two of its candidates getting elected as MLA in newly elected Legislative Assembly) followed by AAP qualifying to become a State Party in the State of Gujarat too in Dec, 2022 on the basis of its performance in State Assembly General Elections ( by obtaining more than 12 % of Total Valid Votes polled in the State and five of its candidates getting elected as MLA in newly elected Legislative Assembly).
However, the ECI has till date not issued any Order or Notification conferring the Status of (Granting Recognition as) State Party to AAP in both the States of Goa and Gujarat under Paragraph 6A (i) of Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968 for the reasons best known to the ECI.
Hemant further said that after conferment of State Party status in the States of Goa and Gujarat on AAP, as when officially and formally granted by the ECI, as hereinbefore explained, AAP would become a State Party in a total of four States in the country viz. Punjab, Goa and Gujarat and NCT of Delhi, hence it would qualify to become a National Party under Paragraph 6B (iii) of Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968 on the similar lines as ECI granted recognition to National Peoples’ Party (NPP) as a National Party in June, 2019 after NPP became a State Party in the States of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
In view of the above, Hemant has appealed that an appropriate Order and Notification ought to be issued by the ECI for conferment of Status of (Granting Recognition as) State Party to AAP in the twin States of Goa and Gujarat and in consequence thereof the conferment of Status of (Granting Recognition as) National Party to AAP on account of it being becoming a State Party in four States. The undersigned feels that ideally this should have been done by ECI well before the announcement of Poll Schedule to the States of Tripura, Meghalaya and Tripura in the month of Jan, 2023.
