The four-month delay by the Election Commission of India (EC) in declaring the AAP as a “national party” has raised eyebrows, given that the poll panel quizzed the party on its finances in 2018.

Hearing a plea of the party, Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the EC to take a decision by April 13.

The EC grants the “national” and “state” tags to parties based on their performance. A “recognised party” is entitled to use its symbol across India or the state where it is recognised. The names of candidates of “recognised parties” appear above those of unrecognised parties or Independents on EVMs.

The AAP told the Karnataka HC that it had written to the EC on December 19, 2022, after qualifying as a national party with the results of the Gujarat polls. It has sent three reminders since. The party’s urgency now is that it is contesting all seats in Karnataka. Although an insignificant player in the state, this could be its first election asa “national party”.

According to a source, the AAP’s cause of concern, however, is that the EC has questioned its status in the past.

In 2018, the EC had sent the AAP a showcause notice on why its state party status in Delhi shouldn’t be suspended. The poll panel did so on a reference from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that found prima facie discrepancies in accounts of donations the party had received. No punitive action was taken against AAP.

After the showcause, party treasurer and MP N. D. Gupta explained that the “Election Commission has copy-pasted & referred grossly incorrect and biased observations of Income Tax Department in its aforesaid notice. Even bank transfers between different state units of the Aam Aadmi Party have also been treated as fresh donations.”

In 2017, the IT department had asked the AAP why it did not pay Rs 30.67 crore as tax for its income in 2014-15. Although the donations to political parties are exempt from tax, the IT department denied the exemption on grounds that the AAP had allegedly concealed sources of its funds and gave incorrect reports of its donations to the EC.

Sushil Chandra, who was then CBDT chairman, went on to join the EC and retired as chief election commissioner last year. Present CEC Rajiv Kumar, whotook over from Chandra, is a former Union finance secretary.

When questioned by this newspaper in a press conference last week, Kumar said that a decision would be taken soon on AAP's national party tag, although he did not explain the delay.