The Aam Aadmi Party's status as a national-level political organisation is 'under review' by the Election Commission of India, CEC Rajiv Kumar said Wednesday after announcing the dates for the Karnataka Assembly election in May. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP became eligible for 'national party' status last year after securing nearly 13 per cent of the votes in the Gujarat election.

The ECI's announcement comes days after a Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate urged the top poll body to grant AAP 'national party' status.

Last year was a significant one in the AAP's electoral history - victory in Punjab meant the western state was the second to be ruled by the party, a statement win in the Delhi civic polls brought the Bharatiya Janata Party's 15-year reign to an end, and a surprisingly strong showing in Gujarat (prime minister Narendra Modi's home state) meant it could claim the coveted 'national party' tag.

The AAP won five seats on its Gujarat Assembly election debut; the BJP's landslide (156 seats) and the Congress' rout (17 seats) added further gloss.

"Today, the AAP has become a national party…. Results of the Gujarat election have come and the party has become a national party. 10 years ago AAP was a small party, now it has governments in two states and has become a national party," Arvind Kejriwal said December 8, later tweeting, "Congratulations to all workers of AAP and all countrymen on becoming a national party."