Status of political parties to be reviewed every 10 years

New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) The Election Commission on Monday announced that status review of political parties, national or of state level, will now be done every 10 years instead of the present five.

"Now, status of a political party -- national or state -- will be reviewed after a period of 10 years instead of five years, as used to be the case till now," an official told IANS.

The decision may be a major reprieve for political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the CPI, which were facing the prospects of losing their national party status after their dismal performance at the general elections of 2014.

The announcement to this effect was made through an official notification issued here.

The Election Commission has amended Paragraph 6C of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, to affect the change. It was last amended in 2011.