Election Commission suspends recognition of PA Sangma-led National People’s Party

EC Suspends Recognition of PA Sangma:

• The Election Commission has suspended recognition of the P A Sangma-led National People’s Party (NPP) , a recognised state party in Meghalaya for its failure to file the election expenditure statement for last year’s Lok Sabha elections.
• Since the elections to the Lok Sabha and elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim, were completed on 28th May last year, the political parties were required to submit their election expenditure statements by 26th of August 2014.
• The Commission had issued two reminders to the NPP to submit the required statement after the due date had long expired.

Finally, the poll panel issued a show cause notice to the NPP on 17th of March this year asking why action should not be taken against it.
The Commission said, it is the first case where recognition of a party has been suspended by it under Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968

NPP:

• NPP was founded in January 2013 by P A Sangma, nine-time Member of Parliament from Meghalaya. Election symbol of party was Book. It is a national-level tribalcentric political party.
• .t present NPP has one Lok Sabha member- PA Sangma from Tura constituency from Meghalaya. It also has 4 members in Rajasthan LA and 2 in Meghalaya LA.