Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar faction granted the NCP name and symbol

Veteran leader Sharad Pawar (right) Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has allotted the Ajit Pawar faction the Nationalist Congress Party's name and symbol (the clock), giving the Deputy CM of Maharashtra an edge over the faction led by his estranged uncle Sharad Pawar, whom the nephew left last year to join hands with the BJP and Shiv Sena.

The verdict delivered on Tuesday in the legal battle between the two NCP factions mirrors the precedent set in the Shiv Sena case the EC had previously adjudicated. The commission once again relied on the test of the majority in the legislative wing to resolve the present dispute, as stated in the order. "The commission examined the affidavits of support filed by both factions and concluded that the group led by the petitioner (Ajit Pawar) enjoyed majority support among the legislators. In view of these findings, this commission holds that the faction led by Ajit Pawar is the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is entitled to use its name and reserved symbol ‘clock' for the purposes of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968."

Nationalist Congress Party workers of the Ajit Pawar faction celebrating at the NCP office the group operates from in Churchgate, on Tuesday

The EC made a concession to the group led by Sharad Pawar by granting them a "one-time option" to claim a name for their political outfit and provide three preferences by Wednesday afternoon, considering the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The test of majority in the legislative wing was deemed appropriate in this case, where both groups were found to be working outside the party constitution and the organisational elections, observed the poll authority.

Ajit Pawar had walked away with a majority of NCP MLAs in July last year and supported the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra. "This decision was taken under pressure," a leader of the Sharad Pawar-led group said on Tuesday. "This is the murder of democracy. What happened is unfortunate," former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh remarked. "The poll panel gave this ruling under pressure from above," Deshmukh told a TV channel, without elaborating.

NCP (Sharad Pawar) state chief Jayant Patil stated that the party would move the Supreme Court against the decision. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on the other hand, said he "accepts with humility" the Election Commission's ruling to declare his faction as the real NCP. Mumbai NCP (Ajit Pawar) President Sameer Bhujbal asserted that the Opposition does not have much to say about the verdict. "We submitted evidence and relevant documents to substantiate our claim," he said, as party workers celebrated the verdict at Ajit Pawar's official residence, where party legislators were in a meeting.

"It's a conspiracy by the invisible powers against the Marathi politicians who founded their own parties from scratch. It happened with the Shiv Sena and now it has happened with NCP too. We will fight it out," said Supriya Sule, NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP. "We will approach the Supreme Court, it is our last hope," Jayant Patil stated on the Election Commission ruling that the Ajit Pawar faction is the real NCP.

Feb 7
Deadline given to Sharad Pawar to choose his party name

With inputs from agencies