India is called the largest democracy in the world. There are three types of political parties in India.
1. National Parties
2. State Parties
3. Regional Parties in India
The Election Commission of India has laid down certain criteria for a party to be recognised as a national or state-level party.
As of February 2020 the number of national parties in India is 8, the number of states recognised parties are 53 and Regional Parties in India are around 329. It is worth mentioning that the status of the national/state/regional parties gets changed on the basis of their performance in the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.
Recognition as a national or a state party ensures that the election symbol of that party can't be used by any other political party throughout the country.
While other registered but unrecognised political parties have to choose election symbols from a pool of “free symbols” announced by the Election Commission from time to time.
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Criteria to become a State Party;
If a political party want to become a state party then it has to fulfill at least one of the following criteria;
A. A party should win at least 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction thereof allotted to that State. or
B. A party should win a minimum 3% of the total number of seats or a minimum of 3 seats in the Legislative Assembly. or
C. In a particular election, the party has to win at least 6% of the total votes, and also win 1 Lok Sabha and 2 Assembly seats. or
D. If a Party fails to win any seat in a State in a general election of Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly of the State, the party will still be eligible for recognition as State Party if it secures 8% or more of the total valid votes polled in the State.
List of 35 state recognised parties
| Name of state Party | State | Abbreviation |
| 1. Aam Aadmi Party | Delhi | AAP |
| 2. Arunachal Congress | Arunachal Pradesh | AC |
| 3. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | Tamil Nadu | AIADMK |
| 4. Asom Gana Parishad | Assam | AGP |
| 5. All India Forward Bloc | West Bengal | AIFB |
| 6. Assam United Democratic Front | Assam | AUDF |
| 7. Biju Janata Dal | Odisha | BJD |
| 8. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | Tamil Nadu and Puducherry | DMK |
| 9. Indian National Lok Dal | Haryana | INLD |
| 10. Janata Dal (Secular) | Karnataka and Kerala | JD(S) |
| 11. Janata Dal (United) | Bihar and Jharkhand | JD(U) |
| 12. Jammu and Kashmir National Conference | Jammu & Kashmir | JKN |
| 13. Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party | Jammu and Kashmir | JKNPP |
| 14. Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party | Jammu and Kashmir | JKPDP |
| 15. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | Jharkhand | JMM |
| 16. Kerala Congress | Kerala | KEC |
| 17. Kerala Congress (M) | Kerala | KEC(M) |
| 18. Lok Jan Shakti Party | Bihar | LJP |
| 19. Maharashtrawadi Gomantak | Goa | MAG |
| 20. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | Tamil Nadu and Puducherry | MDMK |
| 21. Manipur Peoples Party | Manipur | MPP |
| 22. Muslim League Kerala State Committee | Kerala | MUL |
| 23. Nagaland Peoples Front | Nagaland and Manipur | NPF |
| 24. Pattali Makkal Katchi | Tamil Nadu | PMK |
| 25. Rashtriya Janata Dal | Bihar | RJD |
| 26. Revolutionary Socialist Party | West Bengal | RSP |
| 27. Shiromani Akali Dal | Punjab | SAD |
| 28. Sikkim Democratic Front | Sikkim | SDF |
| 29. United Goans Democratic Party | Goa | UGDP |
| 30. Shivsena | Maharashtra | SHS |
| 31. Samajwadi Party | Uttar Pradesh | SP |
| 32. Telugu Desam | Andhra Pradesh | TDP |
| 33. Telangana Rashtra Samithi | Andhra Pradesh | TRS |
| 34. United Democratic Party | Meghalaya | UDP |
| 35. Uttarakhand Kranti Dal | Uttarakhand Himalayas | UKKD |
As per the new rules since August 22, 2016; the poll panel will review the status of national and State parties every 10 years instead of the 5. So, it can be said that the list of national and state parties changes on the basis of the performance of the political parties.
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