“We Will Be Declared National Party If…”: Arvind Kejriwal On AAP’s Expansion

After Del n Punjab, AAP is now a state recognised party in Goa too. If we get recognised in one more state, we will officially be declared as a “national party”

I congratulate each and every volunteer for their hard work. I thank the people for posing faith in AAP n its ideology pic.twitter.com/7UmsIixF0v

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 9, 2022

A party has to either have a 6 percent vote share in the last assembly polls in each of any four states in the last Lok Sabha polls or 2% of all Lok Sabha seats in the last such election, with MPs elected from at least 3 states; or recognition as a state party in at least 4 states to get a national party status.

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Founded in 2012, soon after the Jan Lokpal movement, led by Anna Hazare,  the AAP emerged as the second largest party in the 2013 Delhi assembly election and went on to form the government with the support of Congress. The government was dissolved in 49 days after it failed to get the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill passed due to a lack of support from the Grand Old Party.

However,  AAP returned to power with a thumping win in the 2015 Delhi election. The party was re-elected in the 2020 elections in the national capital.

AAP earlier this year, formed the goverment in Punjab, where it defeated the traditional forces of the Akali Dal and the Congress.

The party’s focus is now on the upcoming polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat as it tries to expand its national footprint.