The Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Sharad Pawar faction has told the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the claims made by the Ajit Pawar faction are baseless and the rebel leader and his ilk do not hold any legal ground to call themselves a legitimate party headed by a person other than its founder and national president, Sharad.

In its response to Ajit’s claim that his is the legitimate party that he heads as the national president, Sharad’s faction has reminded the ECI of disqualification pleas it had filed against 40 MLAs, including ministers, who sided with the deputy chief minister. It said the affidavits filed by those facing disqualification cannot hold any ground and that the rebels are liable for losing their law making rights. Ajit’s faction had filed its plea coinciding with their switch in July. “The plea was filed to pre-emptively avoid inevitable disqualification (of the rebel leaders)”, the response said.