NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has de-recognised Vaiko-led MDMK in Tamil Nadu and PMK in Puducherry as “state” party, a nomenclature used by the poll panel to classify political outfits on the basis of their electoral performance.

The EC recognises parties at state and national level. If a political party is recognised in less than four states, it gets the status of a “state party” in the state or states. This status is accorded on the basis of the performance in Lok Sabha or State assembly elections.

Parties recognised as “State” and “National”, are entitled for exclusive allotment of reserved symbol throughout the country and their candidates need only one proposer for filing the nomination and are also entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of cost. They also get free of cost broadcast or telecast facilities on All India Radio or Doordarshan. The EC sources said a decision on the recognition of a number of parties has been taken. Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal has lost the status of a national party. Among the state parties, Arunachal Congress lost its recognition in Arunachal Pradesh and Samajwadi Party in Uttaranchal and MP. MDMK has been de-recognised in TN where elections are due in 2011. PMK will no more be a state party in Puducherry but will continue to enjoy the status in TN. All the political parties that were de-recognised were served a notice by the EC after the results to explain why they should continue to enjoy the benefits. The EC recognises a political party as national or state if valid votes polled by all the candidates of a party in the last election are not less than six per cent of the total votes polled.