Vice President of Trinamool Congress Mukul Roy on Thursday said that the party is likely to get a national party status very soon, reported PTI. Roy said he has got an unofficial confirmation from the Election Commission.

According to the new rules of the Election Commission, a political party has to either win 2% seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states in the latest general election or it has to win 6% of the total valid votes in at least four states in a Lok Sabha or Assembly election, in addition to winning four Lok Sabha seats. It can also be given a national party status if it has been recognised as a state party in at least four states. Besides, the Election Commission has decided to review the status of political parties every 10 years instead of the five from now on.

Apart from West Bengal, where the TMC has formed the government twice, the party has presence in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. If TMC is awarded the status, it will be the seventh national party in India after the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian National Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist).