NEW DELHI, Sept 30 — The Election Commission today derecognised the Communist Party of India (Marxist) as a national party and froze the name and symbol of the Janata Dal.

The commission, however, recognised the two factions of the Janata Dal, led by Civil Aviation Minister, Sharad Yadav and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda as state parties.

The commission said that after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case, “neither of the two groups led by H.D. Deve Gowda and Sharad Yadav can be recognised by the commission as representing the whole party — Janata Dal. Consequently, the name of the party Janata Dal and the symbol ‘chakra (wheel)’ reserved for it shall stand frozen”.

The EC decision on the Left party stunned the CPM as it came barely a few months before the assembly elections in five states. The party said it had argued before the commission that the present rules were defective and did not take into account all factors necessary for recognition as a national party.

Another party to lose recognition as a state party was the Janata Party led by Dr Subramanian Swamy. The party exists officially only in Arunachal Pradesh and it has been permitted to function as a registered unrecognised party.

The commission, chaired by the Chief Election Commission, Dr M.S.Gill, gave the orders on the basis of poll performance of the parties in the 1999 general election.

The commission, which heard CPM General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet and senior party leader Ramachandran Pillai earlier, said in its order that the CPM was no longer entitled to recognition as a national party under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968.

Stating that the party shall cease to be recognised as a national party, the commission said, “It shall hereafter be recognised as a State party in Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal and the symbol ‘hammer, sickle and star’ shall be reserved for its exclusive use in those states”.

Referring to the CPM plea that it was a political party with long-standing record and the symbols order should not apply in such a manner, the order said that the “Commission sees some force in the submission of the party that a political party recognised as a national party should have a reasonable presence in Parliament”.

“The commission does realise that the CPM is the third largest party, in terms of its strength in both the Houses of Parliament, and also that it is heading three State Governments and has its representation in the Legislative Assemblies of 12 States”, it said.

It said the commission would consider the arguments of CPM at an “appropriate time”. However, as of now, the commission has to apply the symbols order as it stood at the time of the general election held in 1999 and 2000, on the basis of which the poll performance of the party was reviewed.

Stating that the commission has carefully considered the submission of the CPM for immediate amendment of the symbols order, the order said, “The commission is unable to accede to the request of the party for an amendment to the symbols order and giving it the benefit of such amendment.”