Even as NCP chief Sharad Pawar is looking to play a bigger role in uniting the Opposition against BJP at the Centre, his party on Monday lost the national party status. The Election Commission of India (ECI) revoked NCP's national party status on the basis of its election performances in 2014 and 2019. The party will now have state party status only in Maharashtra and Nagaland based on poll performances. Revoking national party status would mean that the NCP's election symbol, clock, will be open for others to use in states other than Maharashtra and Nagaland. Also, the party's star campaigner quota will now get reduced to 20 from 40. Due to this, the expenditure benefits accorded to the NCP campaign earlier will no longer be available. Moreover, NCP will have to forfeit the office that national parties are allotted. According to the ECI order, it had served showcause notice to the NCP on July 18, 2019, asking it to submit comments on why its recognition as national party should not be withdrawn as it is restricted only to Maharashtra and Nagaland. The notice was based on the party's performance in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Arunanchal Pradesh (2019), Goa (2017), Manipur (2017), Maharashtra (2019), Meghalaya (2018) and Nagaland (2018). The order added that the party did not contest Lok Sabha polls in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland. It also did not contest Assembly polls in Arunanchal Pradesh. The party submitted its final response on March 21 to the ECI. The ECI rejected NCP's contention that the methodology devised by the commission to recognise parties under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, suffers from lacuna. It also rejected NCP's demand that it be allowed to keep the symbol for 10 years, saying that there is no such provision. On the party's contention that non-inlcusion of its representation in Lakshadweep (where NCP has a Lok Sabha MP) is arbitrary, the ECI said that Union territories are inlcuded symbols order only if they have legislative assemblies.
