Mumbai: Sharad Pawar-led NCP says dynastic politics breeds in BJP

Clyde Crasto. Pic/X

The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday said that the dynastic politics breeds in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and asked the ruling party to look within before accusing others of indulging in it, reported the PTI.

In its national council meeting (underway in Delhi), the BJP is targeting the opposition on dynastic politics and nepotism, the Sharad Pawar-led party's national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said in a statement, according to the PTI.

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"Dynastic politics breeds in the BJP. The BJP says it will win 370 seats on its own and its NDA alliance will get 400 seats (in Lok Sabha polls). If it is so confident why is constantly targeting the opposition?" he asked, as per the PTI.

The BJP is scared as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I-N-D-I-A), comprising several leading opposition parties like the Congress and NCP-SP, was getting stronger by the day with the support of the people, Crasto said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea of Sharad Pawar challenging an Election Commission order recognising the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NCP, the news agency reported on Sunday.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and KV Viswanathan is likely to hear Sharad Pawar's plea, as per the PTI.

On February 16, the top court had agreed to urgently list the plea after Sharad Pawar stated that a whip may be issued by the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

The veteran leader had sought an urgent hearing of his plea in the wake of twin blows suffered by the group led by him and the consequential fear of facing action for possible violations of whip by his MLAs.

Sharad Pawar had sought urgent hearing in view of the February 15 order of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

Rahul Narwekar held that the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar was the real NCP and that the anti-defection provisions in the Constitution cannot be used to stifle internal dissent.

Prior to this, the poll panel announced on February 6 that the Ajit Pawar faction is the real NCP and also allotted the party's 'clock' symbol to the group.

The special Maharashtra assembly session is beginning on February 20.

Sharad Pawar, who founded the NCP with former Lok Sabha speaker Purno Sangma and Tariq Anwar in 1999 after their expulsion from the Congress, filed the petition through lawyer Abhishek Jebaraj.

Prior to him, the Ajit Pawar faction had filed a caveat in the Supreme Court through advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh to ensure that no ex-parte order is passed in favour of the Sharad Pawar group if the latter moves the top court.

Ajit Pawar, currently a deputy chief minister in Maharashtra, had walked away with a majority of NCP MLAs in July last year and supported the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Eknath Shinde.

(with PTI inputs)