Why in News:

• National People’s Party, has been recognised as a “national party”.

More in News:

• NPP is eighth party to get that recognition after Congress, BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI, CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress and the first from the Northeast
  The Election Commission lists political parties as “national party”, “state party” or “registered (unrecognised) party”.
• The conditions for being listed as a national or a state party are specified under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
• Previously, the poll body used to assess the eligibility based on the performance in one election, but in 2016, it altered the rules to expand the assessing period to two elections (this could be one general election and one state one; or two general elections; or two state ones) after the one in which it was granted a national party or regional party status.

National Party:

• For any political party to be eligible for recognition as a national Party, it has to satisfy any of these conditions
  6% vote share in the last Assembly polls in each of any four states, as well as four seats in the last Lok Sabha polls; or
  2% of all Lok Sabha seats in the last such election, with MPs elected from at least three states; or
• Recognition as a state party in at least four states.
• Note – The NPP has satisfied the last of these conditions. It is recognised as a state party in four states — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland, besides Meghalaya.
• It has earned that recognition by fulfilling different conditions in different states.
• For recognition as a state party, any one of five conditions need to be satisfied. These are specified under paragraph 6A of the 1968 Order:
• Two seats plus a 6% vote share in the last Assembly election in that state; or One seat plus a 6% vote share in the last Lok Sabha election from that state; or
• 3% of the total Assembly seats or 3 seats, whichever is more; or
• One of every 25 Lok Sabha seats (or an equivalent fraction) from a state; or
• An 8% state-wide vote share in either the last Lok Sabha or the last Assembly polls.
• In Meghalaya, the NPP easily satisfies all five conditions, with 19 Assembly  seats out of 59 and a 20.60% vote share in 2018, followed by one of the state’s two Lok Sabha seats and a 22% vote share this year.
• In the other three states, it did not win a single Lok Sabha seat or get an 8% vote share in any, but earned recognition as a state party by virtue of its Assembly poll performances.
• In Manipur, it won four seats in 2017,which satisfied condition (iii) listed under Paragraph 6B. In Assembly elections to Nagaland last year and Arunachal this year, the NPP fulfilled the conditions (i) and (iii).