New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI): Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) has been derecognised as a national party by the Election Commission, a decision that comes ahead of the assembly polls in Bihar. Five other parties also lost their recognition as a state party.
EC sources said today that while the parties may retain their symbol, they would lose facilities like utilising public broadcaster like All India Radio and Doordarshan for poll-eve broadcasts and free copies of electoral rolls.
The RJD which is a recognised party in Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland lost its national party recognition following its poor showing in Jharkhand where the party has been derecognised, the sources said.
To get the national party status, a party should be recognised as a state party in at least four states.
Vaiko-led MDMK is among the five parties which lost its state party recognition in Tamil Nadu where assembly polls are due by May next year.
The Election Commission also withdrew recognition to Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Arunachal Congress in some states following their poor poll performance.
The Arunachal Congress lost its state party status in Arunachal Pradesh, PMK in Puducherry and Samajwadi Party in Uttaranchal and Madhya Pradesh. JD(U), a recognised party in Bihar and Jharkhand, lost its recognition in Jharkhand.
However, PMK will continue to be accorded the state party status in Tamil Nadu and Samajwadi Party a similar privilege in Uttar Pradesh.
Trinamool Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which were also served notices earlier, sought more time to present their case, EC sources said.
The Commission had earlier issued notices to these seven parties asking them to explain why their recognition in some states should not be withdrawn as they failed to fulfil EC's conditions for being declared as a State Party.
The notices were served based on their performance in polls to Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assemblies since last year.
The EC conditions for getting recognition include that the total number of valid votes polled by all the candidates of a party at the last Lok Sabha or assembly election should not be less than six per cent of the total votes polled.