Rush to register as political party on LS poll eve; number now at 1,627

New Delhi: The announcement of Lok Sabha elections has seen a rush to register as a political party with as many as 34 new outfits registering themselves with the Election Commission in 16 days.

The total number of `registered, unrecognised` political parties in India now stand at 1,627. According to the Election Commission, there were a total of 1,593 such parties in the country till March 10. 24 more such parties were registered between March 11 and March 21. And by March 26 -- the last EC count - 10 more outfits had registered as political parties. These registered but unrecognised political parties do not have the privilege of contesting on their election symbols. They have to choose from a list of `free symbols` issued by the poll panel. According to a latest EC circular, 87 such free symbols are available. As per the Representation of the People Act, a candidate of a registered, unrecognised political party requires ten electors of the constituency as proposers. On the other hand, a candidate belonging to a recognised national party or a recognised state party in the state requires only one elector of the constituency as proposer. To become a recognised political party either at the state or national level, a party has to fulfil certain criteria. The criteria for recognition include conducting activities as a political party for a continuous period of five years, or getting at least 4 per cent of the votes polled in elections to the state legislative Assembly or the Lok Sabha in a particular state. But while calculating the votes polled, seats where candidates of such parties have forfeited their deposit are not included. Election Commission rules say that if a candidate fails to get a minimum of one-sixth of the total valid votes polled, the deposit goes to the treasury. As of now, six parties - BJP, BSP, Congress, CPI, CPI (M) and NCP - are recognised as `national parties`. Besides, there are 47 `recognised state parties`.