Fact Sheet: State Parties

📌 Fact Sheet: State Parties (India) — Complete

ECI-recognised State Parties — founders, year, leaders, symbols & quick facts. Tap a card to expand.

ECI Criteria for State Party recognition (any state)

• Secures at least 6% of valid votes in a State Assembly election and wins at least 2 seats in that Assembly; OR
• Secures at least 6% of valid votes in a Lok Sabha election from the State and wins at least 1 Lok Sabha seat; OR
• Wins at least 3% of seats in that State Assembly.

Note: ECI recognizes National & State parties (not "regional" as a separate legal category).

CPI

Communist Party of India (CPI)

Founded: 1925 • Symbol: Ears of Corn & Sickle

FoundersS.A. Dange, M.N. Roy, S.V. Ghate, others

Current leadersD. Raja, Binoy Viswam, K. Subbarayan

• One of India’s oldest political parties; active in early parliamentary opposition to Congress.
• M.N. Roy had earlier formed Indian communist groups abroad (Tashkent 1920) — CPI formally organised in 1925.

NCP

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

Founded: 1999 • Symbol: Clock

FoundersSharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma, Tariq Anwar

Current leadersSharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Praful Patel

• Split from the Congress in 1999 over the issue of a foreign-origin person becoming PM candidate.
• Strong base in Maharashtra; often part of state-level coalitions.

TMC

Trinamool Congress (TMC)

Founded: 1998 • Symbol: Flower & Grass

FounderMamata Banerjee

Current leadersMamata Banerjee, Derek O'Brien

• Split from the Indian National Congress; rose to power in West Bengal in 2011 and has ruled since.
• Regional powerhouse in West Bengal, with growing national visibility.

TDP

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)

Founded: 1982 • Symbol: Hut, Wheel & Plough • Colour: Yellow

FounderN. T. Rama Rao (NTR)

Current leaderN. Chandrababu Naidu

• Major player in Andhra Pradesh politics; was the largest opposition party in the 8th Lok Sabha (1984–1989).
• Regional party with strong organisational roots among Telugu-speaking voters.

DMK

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)

Founded: 1949 • Symbol: Rising Sun

FounderC. N. Annadurai

Current leadersM. K. Stalin, T. R. Baalu

• Originated from the Dravidian movement; split from DK (Periyar E. V. Ramasamy).
• Major party in Tamil Nadu with a long history of state-level governance and social welfare policies.

AIADMK

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)

Founded: 1972 • Symbol: Two Leaves

FounderM. G. Ramachandran (MGR)

Notable leaderJ. Jayalalithaa (former)

• Split from DMK; major rival to DMK in Tamil Nadu politics.
• Known for charismatic leadership and populist welfare schemes while in power.

SP

Samajwadi Party (SP)

Founded: 1992 • Symbol: Bicycle

FounderMulayam Singh Yadav

Current leadersAkhilesh Yadav

• Prominent in Uttar Pradesh politics; social-democratic and caste-based support base.
• Focuses on OBC and rural constituencies; strong organisational presence in UP.

RJD

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)

Founded: 1997 • Symbol: Lantern

FounderLalu Prasad Yadav

Current leadersLalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav

• Strong base among Yadavs and other backward classes in Bihar; emphasis on social justice and anti-elite rhetoric.

SAD

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)

Founded: 1920 • Symbol: Scales / Khanda/other (varies)

Founders / Early leadersSGPC, Master Tara Singh, others

Notable leadersParkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal

• One of the oldest regional parties with roots in Sikh political mobilisation and rural Punjab politics.

RLD

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)

Founded: 1996 • Symbol: Hand Pump

FounderAjit Singh (son of Chaudhary Charan Singh)

Current leaderJayant Chaudhary

• Regional party with agrarian base in western Uttar Pradesh; roots in Chaudhary Charan Singh’s politics.

INLD

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)

Founded: 1996 (origins earlier) • Symbol: Bow & Arrow

FounderOm Prakash Chautala / Devi Lal (political lineage)

Current leadersAbhay Chautala

• Strong in Haryana; rooted in Jat politics and rural mobilization.

JMM

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)

Founded: 1972 • Symbol: Bow & Arrow (varies by state)

FounderBinod Bihari Mahato

Current leadersShibu Soren, Hemant Soren

• Central to Jharkhand statehood movement; focuses on tribal rights and regional development.

JD(S)

Janata Dal (Secular) — JD(S)

Founded: 1999 (roots in Janata movements) • Symbol: Farmer with spade/motor-car (varies)

FounderH. D. Deve Gowda (prominent)

Current leadersH. D. Deve Gowda, H. D. Kumaraswamy

• Strong presence in Karnataka; splintered from broader Janata Dal traditions.

BRS

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) — formerly TRS

Founded: 2001 (as TRS) • Symbol: Car / Lady farmer with paddy (varies)

FounderK. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)

Current leadersK. Chandrashekar Rao, K. T. Rama Rao

• Led the Telangana statehood movement; dominant party in Telangana after state formation.

Justice

Justice Party (historical origin of Dravidian politics)

Founded: 1916 (transformed into DK/DMK traditions)

Early leadersC. Natesa Mudaliar, T. M. Nair, P. Theagaraya Chetty

ContextImportant for non-Brahmin movement in Madras Presidency; antecedent to DK & DMK

• One of the oldest regional movements; provided organisational roots for later Dravidian parties.