Gupta explained that at the time, Narayan, too, stepped back from the PSP and only re-entered national politics once again in the mid-70s when he led the movement against Indira Gandhi, whose government he alleged was corrupt and undemocratic. Narayan subsequently led the calls for Gandhi’s disqualification prior to her declaration of the Emergency in 1975, for which he was arrested.Upon being released from jail, Narayan and other PSP leaders joined hands with several other groups to form the Bharatiya Lok Dal which, following the Emergency in 1977, along with practically the entire opposition in the country, banded together to form the Janata Party to oppose the Gandhi-led Congress. Several parties including the BJP and the Samajwadi Party can trace their lineage back to the Janata Party.The least number of contesting parties till date were in 1992 Lok Sabha polls with seven national parties — BJP, Congress, CPI, CPM, Janata Dal, Janata Party and Lok Dal.According to ECI reports, the 1996 general elections saw a participation of 209 political parties including eight with the national tag — Congress (INC), All Indira Congress (Tiwari), BJP, CPI, CPM, Janata Dal, Janata Party and Samata Party.In 1998 polls, the participating political parties were 176 including seven national parties — Congress, BJP, BSP, Janata Dal, CPI, CPM and Samata party,In 1999, 160 political parties were in the poll fray including seven national parties — BJP, Congress, BSP, CPI, CPM, Janata Dal (Secular) and Janata Dal (United).In 2014, 464 political parties participated in the contest out of which six were national. The parties were — BJP, Congress, CPI, CPI-M, NCP and BSP.The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), got elevated to the status of a national party in 2016, and contested the 2019 polls, with its newly acquired status.In 2019 elections, seven national parties contested the polls — BJP, Congress, BSP, CPI, CPI (M), NCP and AITC. A total of 674 parties had contested.However, both the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Communist Party of India (CPI), lost their national party status.”As per the provisions, to become a national party, a political outfit needs to win at least two percent of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states or get at least six percent votes in four states in addition to four Lok Sabha seats, or recognised as a state party in four states,” said former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi.Last year, the Election Commission (EC) recognised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party, giving it a major boost before 2024, while the TMC, NCP and CPI lost their national party status.”The EC’s decision was based on a review of the parties’ poll performances — the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 21 state assembly polls since 2014. Besides other benefits, the status of a national party ensures that the party’s symbol is reserved for its candidates across the country, and it gets land for an office in the national capital,” he said.The country now has six national parties – BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, CPI(M), National People’s Party and AAP.Polling for the 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases, starting with 102 in the first phase on April 19. The votes will be counted on June 4.
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