What are national parties?

 A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a national party. According to this classification, there were seven recognised national parties in the country. They are:

• All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)
• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Communist Party of India (CPI)
• Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M)
• Indian National Congress (INC)
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

Further Reading:

• Political Parties And Pressure Group
• List of Political Ideologies