KCR launches Bharat Rashtra Samithi party after ECI approves name change of TRS

Tags: State News

The Telangana Chief Minister and president of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, K Chandrasekhar Rao formally launched the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on 9 December 2022 in Hyderabad. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 8 December 2022 had approved the change of name of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). 

The change in the name of the party is seen as an attempt by K Chandrasekhar Rao to make his party play a bigger role at the national level and emerge as a national party.

K Chandrasekhar Rao formed the TRS in 2001 to fight for the formation of a separate state Telangana out of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Political Parties in India

Under the Representation of People’s act 1951 the Election Commission of India (ECI) facilitates and regulates political parties in India. According to the ECI, the recognised political parties in India are of two types. They are either regional or state political parties or national parties.

Criteria to be a National Political parties 

As per the guidelines of the ECI Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019 handbook, a political party would be considered a national party if:

•  It is ‘recognised’ in four or more states; or
• If its candidates polled at least 6% of total valid votes in any four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly elections and has at least four Member of Parliament  in the last Lok Sabha polls; or
• If it has won at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from not less than three states.

National political parties in India 

The Election Commission of India has recognised the following parties as National Party’s till date. They are:

Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), Congress(I), Bhajan Samaj Party(BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India(Marxist),Nationalist Congress Party(NCP),Trinamool Congress and National People’s Party (NPP).

NPP received national party status on June 7, 2019. 

 Chief Election Commissioner: Rajiv Kumar