List of Political Parties in India
In India, there are mainly 3 types of political parties –
1. National Parties
2. State Recognized Parties
3. Unrecognized Parties
| S.No. | Name of Party | 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 | AITC | 1998 |
1) Types of Political Parties in India – National Parties
What is a National Political Party?
A registered party is taken in as a National Party only when it fulfills any of the following conditions:
- If the party wins 2% of Lok Sabha seats from at least three different states in India
- If the party is recognized as a state party in four or more states in India
- If the party polls 6% of votes in 4 states in addition to four seats in the Lok Sabha, at the general election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly.
There are 7 National Parties in India. Have a look a the list of these parties along with their year of foundation.
| S.No. | Name of Party | Leader |
| 1. | Bharatiya Janata Party | Amit Shah |
| 2. | Indian National Congress | Rahul Gandhi |
| 3. | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | Sitaram Yechury |
| 4. | Communist Party of India | Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy |
| 5. | Bahujan Samaj Party | Mayawati Prabhu Das |
| 6. | Nationalist Congress Party | Sharad Pawar |
| 7. | All India Trinamool Congress | Mamata Banerjee |
Given below is the list of the National Political Parties and their leaders.
2) Types of Political Parties in India – State Recognized Parties
What is a State Political Party?
To be called as a State Political Party, a political party needs to fulfill any of the following conditions
- The political party needs to win a minimum of 3% of the total number of seats in the legislative assembly
- For every 25 seats in the Lok Sabha, the political party must win at least one seat. Alternatively, it needs to win any fraction there of allotted to that State.
- The political party should win at least 6% of the total valid votes that are polled during the general election towards the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly. And, in addition, it should win at least one Lok Sabha seat and two Legislative Assembly seats in that particular election.
- As per the liberalized criteria, if a political party fails to win a seat in the State general elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State or the Lok Sabha, then, it needs to secure 8% or more of the total valid votes polled in the State.
There are 48 State Recognized Parties in India. Here is a list of all those political 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 |
| S. No. | Name | Abbreviation | Foundation Year | States |
| 1 | Bhartiya Gramin Samaj Party | BGSP | 2015 | Madhya Pradesh |
| 2 | Amra Bangali | AMB | 1983 | West Bengal |
| 3 | Bhartiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh | BMSM | 1994 | Maharashtra |
| 4 | Hindustani Awam Morcha | HAM | 2015 | Bihar |
| 5 | Indhiya Jananayaga Party | IJK | 2010 | Tamil Nadu |
| 6 | Indian Bold Citizen Party | IBCP | 2016 | Kerala |
| 7 | Jan Samaikyanshra Party | JSP | 2014 | Andhra Pradesh |
| 8 | Jan Adhikar Party Loktantrik | JAP | 2015 | Bihar |
| 9 | Jana Sena Party | JSP | 2014 | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| 10 | Kerala Congress (Jacob) | KCJ | 1991 | Kerala |
| 11 | Kerala (B) | KCB | 1989 | Kerala |
| 12 | Kongynadu Makkal Desia Katchi | KMDK | 2001 | Tamil Nadu |
| 13 | Namathu Kongu Munnetra Kalagam | MKMK | 2016 | Tamil Nadu |
| 14 | Kisan Party of India | KPI | 2014 | Bihar |
| 15 | Lok Satta Party | LSP | 2006 | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| 16 | Manipur Peoples Party | MPP | 1968 | Manipur |
| 17 | Manithaneya Makkal Katchi | MMK | 2009 | Tamil Nadu |
| 18 | Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam | MDMK | 1992 | Tamil Nadu |
| 19 | Janta Dal | JD | 2017 | Bihar, Jharkhand |
| 20 | Odisha Janmorcha | OJM | 2013 | Odisha |
| 21 | Param Digvijay Dal | PDD | 2014 | Uttar Pradesh |
| 22 | Peace Party of India | PPI | 2008 | Uttar Pradesh |
| 23 | Puthiya Tamilagam | PTK | 1996 | Tamil Nadu |
| 24 | Rashtriya Samaj Paksha | RSP | 2003 | Maharashtra |
| 25 | Rashtriya Ulama Council | RUC | 2008 | Uttar Pradesh |
| 26 | Rashtriya Parirakshana Samiti | RPS | 2013 | Andhra |
| 27 | Social Democratic Party of India | SDPI | 2009 | Delhi, UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Tamil Nadu |
3) Types of Political Parties in India – Unrecognized Parties
What is an Unrecognized Party?
- An Unrecognized Political Party is the one who do not have the privilege of contesting the elections on a symbol of its own.
- This[party have to choose one symbol out of the list of ‘free symbols’ issued by the poll panel.
