India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

 has a multi-party system

Multi-party system

A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...

 with a predominance of small regional parties. Political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India

Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...

 (EC). In order to gain recognition in a state, the party must have had political activity for at least five continuous years, and send at least 4% of the state's quota to the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 (India's Lower house), or 3.33% of members to that state's assembly

Vidhan Sabha

The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is the lower house or the sole house of the provincial legislature in the different states of India. The same name is also used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the union territories, Delhi and Pondicherry...

. These conditions are deemed to have failed if a member of the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly of the State becomes a member of that political party after his election. If a party is recognised in four or more states, it is declared as a "National party" by the EC. Otherwise, it is known as a "State Party."

All parties contesting elections have to choose a symbol from a list of available symbols offered by the Election Commission. All 28 states along with the union territory

Union Territory

A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...

 of Pondicherry and the National Capital Territory of Delhi usually have an elected government unless President's rule

President's rule

President's rule is the term used in India when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal rule...

 is imposed under certain conditions.

National Party

Six parties are recognised as national parties. They are listed by name, together with acronym, year of formation and the party leader.

S.N.	Symbol	Flag	Name	Acronym	Year	Party leader
1.			Bahujan Samaj Party Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party is a centrist national political party in India with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans , referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the...	BSP	1984	Mayawati Mayawati Mayawati is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. She heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents the Bahujans or Dalits, the weakest strata of Indian society. This is her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh...
2.			Bharatiya Janata Party Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...	BJP	1980
3.			Communist Party of India Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...	CPI	1925
4.			Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	CPI (M)	1964
5.			Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	INC	1885
6.			Nationalist Congress Party Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...	NCP	1999

State

If a party is recognised as a state party by the Election Commission, it can reserve a symbol for its exclusive use in the state. The following are a list of recognised state parties as of September 2009.