Previous Year Question
A political party is recognized as a regional party, if
It gets 4% votes in the State either in Lok Sabha or the Assembly election.
It gets 6% votes in the State either in Lok Sabha or the Assembly election.
It gets 8% votes in the State either in Lok Sabha or the Assembly election.
None of the above
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The UPPSC answer key treats option (b)—6% votes—as the accepted answer to this question. Available reproductions of the 2014 paper also record the same accepted answer.
However, an important technical correction is necessary. Under the Election Symbols Order applicable in 2014, merely obtaining 6% of the votes was not by itself sufficient. If a party secured at least 6% of valid votes in a State Assembly election, it additionally had to win at least 2 Assembly seats. If the criterion was based on the Lok Sabha election, 6% valid votes had to be accompanied by at least 1 Lok Sabha seat from that State.
Further, obtaining 8% of the total valid votes was itself an independent criterion for recognition as a State Party. This criterion was inserted by an amendment dated 16 September 2011, so it was already applicable when the 2014 examination was held.
Thus, this Question is technically incomplete/ambiguous: option (b) omits the additional seat requirement attached to the 6% criterion, while the 8% criterion in option (c) was also independently valid in 2014.
The principal State Party recognition routes include 6% Assembly votes + 2 seats, or 6% Lok Sabha votes + 1 Lok Sabha seat, specified seat-performance criteria, or the independent 8% valid-vote criterion.