Registration of political parties under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 – Public Notice Period – regarding

New Delhi : Registration of Political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. A party seeking registration under the said Section with the Commission has to submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Commission in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. As per existing guidelines, the applicant association is, inter-alia, asked to publish proposed Name of the party in two national daily news papers and two local daily newspapers, on two days for submitting objections, if any, with regard to the proposed registration of the party before the Commission within 30 days from such publication. Notice so published is also displayed on the website of the Commission.

2. The Commission has announced the General Elections for the Legislative Assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, 2022 on 8th January, 2022. It has been brought to the notice of the Commission that in view of prevailing restrictions on account of Covid -19, there was dislocation and delay in moving applications for registration, which in turn led to delay in registration as a Political Party. During General Election to Legislative Assembly of Bihar, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal also, the Commission relaxed this notice period in view of ongoing pandemic. Therefore, after considering all aspects of the matter, the Commission has given a relaxation and has reduced the notice period from 30 days to 7 days for the parties who have published their public notice on or before 08.01.2022. For all parties, including of those parties which have already published the Public Notice in less than 7 days prior to 08.01.2022, objection, if any, can be submitted latest by 5.30 PM on 21st January, 2022 or by the end of the originally provided 30 days period, whichever is earlier.