List of All the Political Parties in India
As on April 13, 2018 there are three types of Political Parties in India i.e. national parties (7), state recognized party (24) and registered unrecognised parties (2044). All the political parties which wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
A recognized party enjoys privileges like reserved party symbol, free broadcast time on state run television and radio in the favour of party. Election commission asks to these national partiesregarding the date of elections and receives inputs for the conduct of free and fair polls.
National Party:
A registered party is recognised as a National Party only if it fulfils any one of the following three conditions:
- If a party wins 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha (as of 2014, 11 seats) from at least 3 different States.
- At a General Election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly, the party polls 6% of votes in four States in addition to 4 Lok Sabha seats.
- A party is recognised as a State Party in four or more States.
List of all the National Parties in India are given below –
| S.No. | Name | Abbreviation | Foundation year |
| 1. | Bharatiya Janata Party | BJP | 1980 |
| 2. | Indian National Congress | INC | 1885 |
| 3. | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | CPI-M | 1964 |
| 4. | Communist Party of India | CPI | 1925 |
| 5. | Bahujan Samaj Party | BSP | 1984 |
| 6. | Nationalist Congress Party | NCP | 1999 |
| 7. | All India Trinamool Congress | TMC | 1998 |
A registered party has to fulfill any of the following conditions to be known as State political Party:
- A party should win minimum3% of the total number of seats or a minimum of 3 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
- A party should win at least 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction there of allotted to that State.
- A political party should secure at least 6% of the total valid votes polled during general election to a Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly and should, in addition, win at least 1 Lok Sabha, and 2 Legislative Assembly seats in that election.
- Under the liberalized criteria, one more clause has been added to provide that even if a Party fails to win any seat in a State in a general election to the Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly of the State, the party will still be eligible for recognition as State Party if it secures 8% or more of the total valid votes polled in the State. As on April 13, 2018 some parties in the list given below is no more state parties.
| S.No. | Name | Abbreviation | Foundation Year |
States/UT |
| 1. | Aam Aadmi Party | AAP | 2012 | Delhi, Punjab |
| 2. | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | AIADMK | 1972 | Puducherry, Tamil Nadu |
| 3. | All India Forward Bloc | AIFB | 1939 | West Bengal |
| 4. | All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen | AIMIM | 1927 | Telangana |
| 5. | All India N.R. Congress | AINRC | 2011 | Puducherry |
| 6. | All India United Democratic Front | AIUDF | 2004 | Assam |
| 7. | All Jharkhand Students Union | AJSU | 1986 | Jharkhand |
| 8. | Asom Gana Parishad | AGP | 1985 | Assam |
| 9. | Biju Janata Dal | BJD | 1997 | Odisha |
| 10. | Bodoland People’s Front | BPF | 1985 | Assam |
| 11. | Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam | DMDK | 2005 | Tamil Nadu |
| 12. | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | DMK | 1949 | Puducherry, Tamil Nadu |
| 13. | Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) | HJC(BL) | 2007 | Haryana |
| 14. | Hill State People’s Democratic Party | HSPDP | 1968 | Meghalaya |
| 15. | Indian National Lok Dal | INLD | 1999 | Haryana |
| 16. | Indian Union Muslim League | IUML | 1948 | Kerala |
| 17. | Jammu & Kashmir National Conference | JKNC | 1932 | Jammu & Kashmir |
| 18. | Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party | JKNPP | 1982 | Jammu & Kashmir |
| 19. | Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party | JKPDP | 1998 | Jammu & Kashmir |
| 20. | Janata Dal (Secular) | JD(S) | 1999 | Karnataka, Kerala |
| 21. | Janata Dal (United) | JD(U) | 1999 | Bihar |
| 22. | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | JMM | 1972 | Jharkhand |
| 23. | Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) | JVM(P) | 2006 | Jharkhand |
| 24. | Kerala Congress (M) | KC(M) | 1979 | Kerala |
| 25. | Lok Janshakti Party | LJP | 2000 | Bihar |
| 26. | Maharashtra Navnirman Sena | MNS | 2006 | Maharashtra |
| 27. | Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party | MGP | 1963 | Goa |
| 28. | Manipur State Congress Party | MSCP | 1997 | Manipur |
| 29. | Mizo National Front | MNF | 1959 | Mizoram |
| 30. | Mizoram People’s Conference | MPC | 1972 | Mizoram |
| 31. | Naga People’s Front | NPF | 2002 | Manipur, Nagaland |
| 32. | National People’s Party | NPP | 2013 | Meghalaya |
| 33. | Pattali Makkal Katchi | PMK | 1989 | Puducherry, Tamil Nadu |
| 34. | People’s Party of Arunachal | PPA | 1987 | Arunachal Pradesh |
| 35. | Rashtriya Janata Dal | RJD | 1997 | Bihar, Jharkhand |
| 36. | Rashtriya Lok Dal | RLD | 1996 | Uttar Pradesh |
| 37. | Rashtriya Lok Samta Party | RLSP | 2013 | Bihar |
| 38. | Revolutionary Socialist Party | RSP | 1940 | Kerala, West Bengal |
| 39. | Samajwadi Party | SP | 1992 | Uttar Pradesh |
| 40. | Shiromani Akali Dal | SAD | 1920 | Punjab |
| 41. | Shiv Sena | SS | 1966 | Maharashtra |
| 42. | Sikkim Democratic Front | SDF | 1993 | Sikkim |
| 43. | Sikkim Krantikari Morcha | SKM | 2013 | Sikkim |
| 44. | Telangana Rashtra Samithi | TRS | 2001 | Telangana |
| 45. | Telugu Desam Party | TDP | 1982 | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| 46. | United Democratic Party | UDP | 1972 | Meghalaya |
| 47. | YSR Congress Party | YSRCP | 2011 | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| 48. | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | SJP | 1990 | Uttar Pradesh |
A political party is a group of people who share similar political views, come together to contest elections and try to hold power in the government. The members of the political parties agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good. Political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India (EC). Currently there are 6 national parties in India.
