List of Political Parties in India: National Parties in India 2023

List of political parties in India: A Political party is an organization that cooperates with candidates to compete in the public election. They settle on certain strategies and projects for the general public, with the end goal of advancing the aggregate great. India’s multi-party framework includes six national parties: AAP, BSP, BJP, Congress, CPI-M, and NPP (the North East’s inaugural national party). Additionally, there are 56+ state parties.

Find the comprehensive list of all the national and state political parties in India below.

What is a National Party?

A national party, as its name implies, is distinct from a regional party in that it has influence across the entire country. National parties are thought to win the Lok Sabha elections and designate the Prime Minister of India.

A political party in India is classified as a national political party in accordance with standards established by the Indian Election Commission. The Representation of the People Act of 1951 contains an outline of these requirements. In order to qualify as a national political party, a party needs to fulfill one or more of the following requirements:

• In order to be elected to the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, a party must receive at least 6% of the valid votes cast in four or more states. Additionally, it ought to take home at least four Lok Sabha seats.
• In the general election, the party must secure at least 2% of the Lok Sabha seats, with three different states providing at least one of these seats.

List of All National Political Parties in India

The following are the list of all major National Parties of India:

S. No.	Political Party Name (Full Form)	Abbreviation	Founding Date
1.	Bharatiya Janata Party	BJP	6 April 1980
2.	Indian National Congress	INC	28 December 1885
3.	Communist Party of India	CPI	26 December 1925
3.	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	CPI-M	7 November 1964
4.	Aam Aadmi Party	AAP	26 November 2012
5.	Bahujan Samaj Party	BSP	14 April 1984
6.	National People’s Party	NPP	6 January 2013
7.	All India Trinamool Congress	AITC	1 January 1998
8.	Nationalist Congress Party	NCP	10 June 1999
Source: Election Commission of India

Recognized National Parties of India

The following is a list of the recognized national parties in India as of 2023:

• All India Trinamool Congress (TMC)
• Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))
• Indian National Congress (INC)
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) revoked the national party status of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Communist Party of India (CPI) on April 10, 2023. The ECI also recognized Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party.

The ECI’s decision was based on a review of the parties’ poll performances in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 21 state assembly polls since 2014. The ECI found that the TMC, NCP, and CPI had failed to meet the criteria for national party status, which include winning at least 6% of the valid votes polled in the Lok Sabha election and winning two seats each in the Lok Sabha and a state assembly.

What is State Party?

A political party that is acknowledged at the state or union territory level but not at the federal level is known as a state party in India. State parties concentrate their efforts on local politics and issues and mostly operate within a particular state or union territory.

The Election Commission of India oversees the designation of a party as a state party. A political party must normally fulfill certain requirements, which differ from state to state but are usually connected to the party’s performance in state-level elections, like Assembly or local body elections, in order to be recognized as a state party. The precise requirements may vary from one state to the next.

To know more about Regional Party

List of the State and Regional Parties in India (Recognised & Unrecognized)

Here is the list of State and Regional Parties in India:

Name	Abbreviation	Founding  Year	States/UT
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	AIADMK	1972	Puducherry, Tamil Nadu
All India Forward Bloc	AIFB	1939	West Bengal
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen	AIMIM	1927	Telangana
All India N.R. Congress	AINRC	2011	Puducherry
All India United Democratic Front	AIUDF	2004	Assam
All Jharkhand Students Union	AJSU	1986	Jharkhand
Asom Gana Parishad	AGP	1985	Assam
Biju Janata Dal	BJD	1997	Odisha
Bodoland People’s Front	BPF	1985	Assam
Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam	DMDK	2005	Tamil Nadu
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	DMK	1949	Puducherry, Tamil Nadu
Indian Union Muslim League	IUML	1948	Kerala
Hill State People’s Democratic Party	HSPDP	1968	Meghalaya
Indian National Lok Dal	INLD	1999	Haryana
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference	JKNC	1932	Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party	JKNPP	1982	Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir Apni Party	JKAP	2020	Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party	JKPDP	1998	Jammu & Kashmir
Janata Dal (Secular)	JD(S)	1999	Karnataka, Kerala
Janata Dal (United)	JD(U)	1999	Bihar
Lok Jan Shakti Party	LJP	2000	Bihar
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha	JMM	1972	Jharkhand
Rashtriya Lok Dal	RLD	1996	Uttar Pradesh
People’s Democratic Front	PDF	2017	Meghalaya
Kerala Congress (M)	KC(M)	1979	Kerala
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena	MNS	2006	Maharashtra
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party	MGP	1963	Goa
United People’s Party Liberal	UPPL	2015	Assam
Mizo National Front	MNF	1959	Mizoram
Mizoram People’s Conference	MPC	1972	Mizoram
Naga People’s Front	NPF	2002	Manipur, Nagaland
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party	NDPP	2017	Nagaland
Pattali Makkal Katchi	PMK	1989	Puducherry, Tamil Nadu
People’s Party of Arunachal	PDA	1977	Arunachal Pradesh
Rashtriya Janata Dal	RJD	1997	Bihar, Jharkhand
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party	RLP	2020	Rajasthan
Zoram Nationalist Party	ZNP	1997	Mizoram
Revolutionary Socialist Party	RSP	1940	Kerala, West Bengal
Samajwadi Party	SP	1992	Uttar Pradesh
Shiromani Akali Dal	SAD	1920	Punjab
Shiv Sena	SS	1966	Maharashtra
Sikkim Democratic Front	SDF	1993	Sikkim
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha	SKM	2013	Sikkim
Telangana Rashtra Samithi	TRS	2001	Telangana
Telugu Desam Party	TDP	1982	Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Tipra Motha Party	TMP	2022	Tripura
United Democratic Party	UDP	1972	Meghalaya
YSR Congress Party	YSRCP	2011	Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)	SJP	1990	Uttar Pradesh
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation	CPI (ML)L	1974	Bihar
Goa Forward Party	GFP	2016	Goa
Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura	IPFT	2009	Tripura
Janta Congress Chhattisgarh	JCC	2016	Chhattisgarh
Jan Nayak Janta Party	JJP	2018	Haryana

Role of a Political Parties in India

The following are role of Political Parties in India:

• Parties In India take contest elections.
• Parties form a government and run the country(India).
• They present different approaches and projects for individuals.
• They assume a significant part in decision-production to enact and execute.
• These gatherings, when effective in decisions, structure and run the public authority.
• These gatherings, in the event that they lose, become the resistance groups and assume the part of condemning the public authority.
• The gatherings shape the popular’s perspective on different issues. They can assist them with framing an assessment and can likewise impact them to adjust their perspective.
• These gatherings assist the populace with getting to the public authority’s arrangements and acts.

Challenges to Indian Political Parties

The following are the Challenges faced by Indian Political Parties:

• Lack of internal democracy.
• The dynastic progression.
• Money and muscle power.

To know more: Challenges Faced by Political Party in India

Steps to Strengthen the Political Parties

Party leaders ought to make stricter regulations with respect to unseen struggles of the party which they personally will undoubtedly obey as well. Each party should have a booking of 33% of seats for ladies so that issues connected with ladies in the nation are better addressed and the issues connected with orientation disparity are settled. Assuming any party is ended up being enjoyed any kind of wrongdoing, that individual ought to be rusticated from the party. The government ought to force stricter regulations in regard to consumption before decisions to get the political parties far from impacting the electors with cash.

Each party in the nation needs to enlist with the Election Commission. It offers a few exceptional offices for huge and laid-out parties. The Election Commission has set down nitty-gritty rules regarding the extent of votes and seats that a party should set up to be a perceived party.

• A party that gets something like 6% of the all-out votes in a political decision to the Legislative Assembly of a State and wins somewhere around 2 seats is perceived as a State Party.
• A party that gets something like 6% of the all-out votes in Lok Sabha decisions or Assembly races in 4 States and wins somewhere around 4 seats in the Lok Sabha is perceived as a National Party.

National Parties in India – Interesting Facts

1. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

• Idea by Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951 and established in 1980.
• Drawing motivation from India’s antiquated culture and values and Deendayal Upadhyaya’s thoughts of indispensable humanism and Antyodaya needs to fabricate a solid and current India.
• Social patriotism (or ‘Hindutva’) is a significant component in its origination of Indian nationhood and governmental issues.
• Prior restricted to the north and west and to metropolitan regions, the party extended its help to the south, east, northeast, and to country regions.

2. Indian National Congress (INC)

• Prominently known as the Congress Party. Perhaps the most established party in the world. Established in 1885 and has encountered many parts.
• Under the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party looked to assemble an advanced common popularity-based republic in India.
• The party’s fundamental thought is to advance secularism and government assistance of more fragile segments and minorities.

3. All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)

• Sent off on 1 January 1998 under the authority of Mamata Banerjee.
• Perceived as a public party in 2016.
• The party’s image is blossoms and grass.
• Focused on secularism and federalism.
• Has been in power in West Bengal starting around 2011 and has a presence in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura.

4. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

• Shaped in 1984 under the initiative of Kanshi Ram.
• For the rights of Bahujan Samaj which incorporates the Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, and strict minorities.
• Represents the reason for getting the interests and government assistance of the Dalits and mistreated individuals.
• It has its fundamental base in the province of Uttar Pradesh and a significant presence in adjoining states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Punjab.
• Shaped government in UP a few times by taking the help of various gatherings at various times.

Read more on:

• Functions of Political Parties
• Why do we need Political Parties in IndiaNorth East’s
• Difference between Political Parties and Pressure Groups

National Political Parties in India – FAQs

1. What is a political party?

Political party is a gathering who meet up to challenge races and hold power in the public authority. They settle on certain strategies and projects for the general public, with the end goal of advancing the aggregate great.

2. What is the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata party.

Ideology of Bharatiya Janata Party includes the following:

• Cultural Nationalism and values.
• Jammu and Kashmir to be fully integrated to India.
• A uniform common code for all people living in the country regardless of religion.

3. What are the important characteristics of a political party?

Political parties contest elections.

1. They play a decisive role in making laws.
2. They form and run the government.
3. They have their own strategies, ideologies, and manifesto..

4. What are the some reforms to political parties.

Reforms of Political Parties Includes the following:

• Regulation to direct the inner issues of political parties like keeping a register of its individuals, to follow its own constitution, to have free power, to go about as judge if there should be an occurrence of party debate, to hold open decisions to the most elevated post.
• Mandatory to give one third tickets to women candidates. Also there should be quota for women on the decision-making of the party.
• Candidates with criminal records shouldn’t be promoted.
• Citizens can change legislative issues in the event that they partake straight forwardly and join ideological groups. Individuals can come down on ideological groups through petitions, exposure in media, disturbances and so forth.

5. How developing job of money and muscle power controlled in political parties?

 The developing job of money and muscle power in a political parties can be controlled in following ways:

• There ought to be State financing of decisions.
• Rallies and parades ought to be prohibited.
• Numerous types elections ought to be held simultaneously.

6. How many political parties are there in India?

According to latest publications of Election Commission of India (ECI) on May 2023,  there are 6 national parties, 54 state parties, and 2,597 unrecognised parties.