List Of All Political Parties In India With

Their Founder Presidents - Check Here!

India is the largest democracy in the world and therefore its political system is made of
multitude of factions and political parties. So let's take a look at the chronology,
relevance and importance of the many political parties that India saw arise and fall.
Here is the list of Political Parties in India along with their history and prominent
leaders to boost your preparation of General Awareness section for various banking,
SSC, Railway & Government Exams.

But before we start with the Political System of India, you should know a few terms
associated with politics.

Formation Of Political Parties in India

• A political party is a group of people, with similar political aim , coming together
to contest election.
• All parties that desire to contest elections in India have to register themselves
with the Election Commission of India or ECI.
• Generally, in a political party, you will find that all party members have a
common goal. Such goals are listed down in a political manifesto.

List of Political Parties in India

Of the many Indian parties, some were those that rooted from the Independence
Struggle, some others were born to revolutionize the new age India and free it from the
shackles of Corruption. At the same time, some of the currently more powerful and

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politically strong parties raised when the country was going through a state of
emergency!

In India, there are mainly 3 types of political parties –

1. National Parties
2. State Recognized Parties
3. Unrecognized Parties

Types of Political Parties in India - National Parties

What is a National Political Party?

A party registered with Election Commission of India is declared a National Party on the
following conditions:

• If it wins 2% of the Lok Sabha seats from at least 3 different states

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 • If it is recognized as a state party in at least 4 states.
• If it receives 6% of votes polled in previous Parliamentary or Legislative Assembly
Election in addition to 4 seats in Lok Sabha.

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 Abbreviation Foundation Party Logo

Year
1. Bharatiya Janata Party BJP 1980

2. Indian National Congress INC 1885

3. Communist Party of India CPI-M 1964

(Marxist)

4. Communist Party of India CPI 1925

5. Bahujan Samaj Party BSP 1984

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 6. Nationalist Congress Party NCP 1999

7. All India Trinamool AITC 1998

Congress

Given below is the list of the National Political Parties and their leaders.

National Party Founder Info

Indian National A.O. Hume It is the first all India Political
Congress - INC First President – WC Party of pre-independence India
Banerjee Alliance of other supportive Party
– United Progressive Alliance
Bhartiya Janta Originated from Bhartiya Officially created in 1980 and
Party-BJP Jan Sangh founded by contested in 1984 Lok Sabha
Shyama Prasad Election First President 1984- L K
Mukherjee. Advani
Bahujan Samaj Kanshi Ram in 1984 Formed to represent Bahujans
Party-BSP (Majority)- at that time
SC/ST/OBC/religious minorities
formed 85% of the population
Communist Party P. Sundarayya and E.M.S. It formed from CPI (undivided
of India (Marxist) Namboodiripad and others India).
CPI(M) in 1964 CPI(M) represents the Left wing of
Indian Politics.
The Party has various other wing-

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 Youth Wing, Peasant Wing,
Women’s Wing, Tribal Wing
Nationalist Sharad Pawar, P. A. It represents previous leaders of
Congress Sangma, and Tariq Anwar INC and was a part of United
Party(NCP) in 1999 Progressive Alliance.
It has it’s voter base in
Maharashtra and Meghalaya
All India Trinamool Mamta Banerjee in 1998 Formed after a split from INC.
Congress(AITC/
TMC)

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Types of Political Parties in India - State
Recognized Parties

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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 49 State Recognized Parties in India. Here is a list of all those political
parties.

S.No. Name Related Info Political States/UT

Leader &
Foundation
Year
1. Aam Aadmi Party Originated Arvind Kejriwal Delhi, Punjab
(AAP) from India in 2012
Against
Corruption
movement lead

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 by Anna
Hazare and
Team Anna.
2. All India Anna - M.G. Puducherry, Tamil
Dravida Munnetra Ramchandran Nadu
Kazhagam (MGR) in 1972
3. All India Forward Formed after Subash West Bengal
Bloc (AIFB) differences Chandra Bose
with INC in 1939
4. All India Majlis-e- - 1927 Telangana
Ittehadul
Muslimeen
(AIMIM)
5. All India N.R. - 2011 Puducherry
Congress (AINRC)
6. All India United - 2004 Assam
Democratic Front
(AIUDF)
7. All Jharkhand - 1986 Jharkhand
Students Union
(AJSU)
8. Asom Gana - 1985 Assam
Parishad (AGP)
9. Biju Janata Dal - 1997 Odisha
(BJD)
10. Bodoland People's - 1985 Assam
Front (BPF)

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11. Desiya Murpokku - 2005 Tamil Nadu
Dravidar
Kazhagam
(DMDK)
12. Dravida Munnetra - C.N. Annadurai Puducherry, Tamil
Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949 Nadu
13. Haryana Janhit - 2007 Haryana
Congress
(HJC(BL))
14. Hill State People's - 1968 Meghalaya
Democratic Party
(HSPDP)
15. Indian National - Chaudhary Devi Haryana
Lok Dal (INLD) Lal in 1999
16. Indian Union - 1948 Kerala
Muslim League
(IUML)
17. Jammu & Kashmir - 1932 Jammu & Kashmir
National
Conference
(JKNC)
18. Jammu & Kashmir - 1982 Jammu & Kashmir
National Panthers
Party (JKNPP)
19. Jammu and - 1998 Jammu & Kashmir
Kashmir People's

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 Democratic Party
(JKPDP)
20. Janata Dal - 1999 Karnataka, Kerala
(Secular) (JD (S))
21. Janata Dal - Nitish Kumar in Bihar
(United) (JD (U)) 1999
22. Jharkhand Mukti - Jharkhand
Morcha (JMM )
23. Jharkhand Vikas - 2006 Jharkhand
Morcha
(Prajatantrik)
(JVM(P))
24. Kerala Congress - 1979 Kerala
(M) (KC(M))
25. Lok Janshakti - 2000 Bihar
Party (LJP)
26. Maharashtra - 2006 Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena
(MNS)
27. Maharashtrawadi - 1963 Goa
Gomantak Party
(MGP)
28. Manipur State - 1997 Manipur
Congress Party
(MSCP)
29. Mizo National - 1959 Mizoram
Front (MNF)

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 30. Mizoram People's - 1972 Mizoram
Conference (MPC)
31. Naga People's - 2002 Manipur, Nagaland
Front (NPF)
32. National People's - 2013 Meghalaya
Party (NPP)
33. Pattali Makkal - 1989 Puducherry, Tamil
Katchi (PMK) Nadu
34. People's Party of - 1987 Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal (PPA)
35. Rashtriya Janata - Lalu Prasad Bihar, Jharkhand
Dal (RJD) Yadav in 1997
36. Rashtriya Lok Dal - 1996 Uttar Pradesh
(RLD)
37. Rashtriya Lok - 2013 Bihar
Samta Party
(RLSP)
38. Revolutionary - 1940 Kerala, West
Socialist Party Bengal
(RSP)
39. Samajwadi Party - Mulayam Singh Uttar Pradesh
(SP) Yadav in 1992
40. Shiromani Akali It was an A task force of Punjab
Dal (SAD) offshoot of the Shiromani
various local Gurudwara
movements of Prabandhak in
Non- 1920

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 Cooperation
Movement in
1920
41. Shiv Sena (SS) Supports pro- Bal Thackrey in Maharashtra
Maratha 1966
ideology
42. Sikkim Democratic Chamling is the Pawan Kumar Sikkim
Front (SDF) longest Chamling in
continuous 1993
serving
CM(Sikkim) of
India
43. Sikkim Krantikari - 2013 Sikkim
Morcha (SKM)
44. Telangana Rashtra - 2001 Telangana
Samithi (TRS)
45. Telugu Desam - 1982 Andhra
Party (TDP) Pradesh, Telangana
46. United Democratic - E.K. Mawlong Meghalaya
Party (UDP) in 1972
47. YSR Congress - 2011 Andhra
Party (YSRCP) Pradesh, Telangana
48. Samajwadi Janata - 1990 Uttar Pradesh
Party (Rashtriya)
(SJP)
49 All India Public - 2016 Tamil Nadu
Freedom Party
(AIPFP)

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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.

There are more than hundred Unrecognized Political Parties in India, some of
them are enlisted below:

S. Name Abbreviation Foundation States

No. Year
1 Bhartiya Gramin Samaj BGSP 2015 Madhya Pradesh
Party
2 Amra Bangali AMB 1983 West Bengal
3 Bhartiya Minorities BMSM 1994 Maharashtra
Suraksha Mahasangh
4 Hindustani Awam HAM 2015 Bihar
Morcha
5 Indhiya Jananayaga IJK 2010 Tamil Nadu
Party
6 Indian Bold Citizen IBCP 2016 Kerala
Party
7 Jan Samaikyanshra JSP 2014 Andhra Pradesh
Party

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 8 Jan Adhikar Party JAP 2015 Bihar
Loktantrik
9 Jana Sena Party JSP 2014 Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana
10 Kerala Congress KCJ 1991 Kerala
(Jacob)
11 Kerala (B) KCB 1989 Kerala
12 Kongynadu Makkal KMDK 2001 Tamil Nadu
Desia Katchi
13 Namathu Kongu MKMK 2016 Tamil Nadu
Munnetra Kalagam
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 MMK 2009 Tamil Nadu
Katchi
18 Marumalarchi Dravida MDMK 1992 Tamil Nadu
Munnetra Kazhgam
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 RSP 2003 Maharashtra
Paksha
25 Rashtriya Ulama RUC 2008 Uttar Pradesh
Council

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 26 Rashtriya Parirakshana RPS 2013 Andhra
Samiti
27 Social Democratic Party SDPI 2009 Delhi, UP,
of India Rajasthan,
Gujarat,
Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Goa,
Tamil Nadu

United Progressive Alliance(UPA) and National

Democratic Alliance(NDA)

• UPA is the Alliance of State and Regional Parties supporting Indian National
Congress in Lok Sabha.
• NDA is Alliance of State and Regional Parties supporting BJP in Lok Sabha.

Can two Parties have Same Symbol?

Party Symbols are allotted by Election Commission of India. Two Parties can have same
symbol as long as they are not fighting the election against each other. Although
National Parties can use their symbol across the nation.
e.g. Samajwadi Party and J&K Panthers Party have same symbol since their regional
influence is different.

Hope this article was useful to know about the political parties in India. Stay updated
with more articles for competitive exams.

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