The Election Commission of India (EC) accorded national party status to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), making it the seventh party that can contest Lok Sabha and assembly polls across the country on its own symbol.

The recognition comes at a time when TMC chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is looking to expand beyond her home state and secure for herself and her party a larger play in federal politics.

• A recent amendment of rules by EC helped the TMC live up to its name and secure recognition as a national party. The other six are the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India.

• Under the revised rules of EC, a party’s performance over two consecutive Lok Sabha or assembly elections is considered, as opposed to one previously, for granting recognition as a national party. Had this not happened, the TMC would not have qualified as a state party in Arunachal Pradesh because of its poor performance there in the 2014 general election.

• Recognition as a national party also means the TMC will get an audience with the EC more frequently, according to Chattopadhyay. EC deliberates on various matters from time to time and invites only the national parties to such brainstorming sessions.