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Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's National People's Party (NPP) has got national status from the Election Commission. At the same time, for the first time in the history of independent India, a local party of the northeast has the distinction of getting this status.

National People’s Party (NPP)

• National People's Party (NPP) has a  national symbol “Book”.
• NPP was established in the year 2013 by Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma.
• Sangma has been the biggest and popular MP of the Northeast.
• In 2012, he had set up the party separating from the Congress.
• Kirodmal Meena of Rajasthan is also the co-founder of NPP with Sangma.
• In the Rajasthan assembly elections in 2013, the NPP won four seats.
• In Manipur assembly elections, the NPP contested 9 seats and won 4 seats, in the year 2017.
• The National People's Party, headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, had fulfilled all the necessary qualifications for National Party Status.
• The NPP Center is the ruling alliance partner of the NDA.
• It is already recognized as a state party in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
• Due to its recent performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha and Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections, the NPP had met the necessary conditions for the recognition of the national party.
• In the Assembly elections, the NPP won five seats in Arunachal Pradesh.
• NPP is the largest party in Meghalaya with 21 seats out of 60 seats.

National Party Status

• According to the Election Commission rules, if a party recognizes the state level party in four states, then fulfills all the necessary conditions for the recognition of the national political party.
• After getting the status of National Party, any other political party or candidate in the country cannot be allotted NPP's election symbol 'Book'.
• At present, seven political parties had national status. These parties  are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Indian National Congress (Congress), Marxist Communist Party CPI (M), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Indian Communist Party (CPI) and All India Trinamool Congress.

Conrad Sangma

• Conrad Sangma was born on 27 January 1978 in Meghalaya.
• He is an Indian politician from the state of Meghalaya.
• He is the twelfth and present Chief Minister of Meghalaya state also.
• Conrad is the son of former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma.
• Conrad Sangma also became the youngest finance minister of Meghalaya in the year 2008.
• He is currently an MP from Tura Lok Sabha constituency.
• He became MLA from the Nationalist Congress Party for the first time with his brother James Sangma in the Meghalaya assembly elections in the year 2008.
• He held important departments like the finance, commerce, tourism and information broadcasting department in the state cabinet.