Election Commission of India on Tuesday (February 6) ruled in favour of the faction led by Ajit Pawar in connection with the dispute in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) name and symbol, in a massive setback for Sharad Pawar months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The decision was made after more than 10 hearings spread over more than 6 months. Election Commission of India provided a one-time option to claim a name for its new political formation and provide three preferences to the Commission. The concession is to be utilised by 3 pm on February 7, 2024.
Ajit Pawar got Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) name and symbol after more than 10 hearings of distinguished legal teams.
How was the decision made?
The decision followed the laid-out tests of maintainability of such a petition which included tests of aims and objectives of the party constitution, test of party constitution and tests of majority both organizational and Legislative. The test of majority in the legislative wing found favour in this circumstance of the case, where both groups have found to be working outside the party constitution and the organizational elections. Thus, the occupants of the post were primarily assessed to be appointed by self-nominated members of electoral college and against the internal party democracy.
Serious inconsistencies in terms of timelines in the claim of the Sharad Pawar group, in support of their claim of having organizational majority, resulted in unreliability of their claim. Taking into account the significant timeline of the elections to the 6 seats of Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar faction has been given a special concession to comply with Rule 39AA of Conduct of Elections Rules 1961, which allows the authorised agents of political parties to verify as to whom an elector, who is a member of a political party has cast his vote.
What did the ECI say?
The Commission thus using its powers has provided Sharad Pawar faction, a one-time option to claim a name to its new political formation and provide three preferences to the Commission. The concession is to be utilised by 3 pm on February 7, 2024.
ECI advised all political parties to publish the process followed in internal elections and elected/nominated members on their website.
Why was the dispute?
The dispute arose relating to the NCP name and symbol after Ajit Pawar switched over from the Opposition camp to the ruling Maharashtra side and joined the government along with eight other NCP MLAs in July last year, necessitating the vertical split in the party.
The Election Commission had written to both factions of the party earlier acknowledging the split and had also directed both leaders to share documents, submitted to the polling body, with each other.
The Commission in July last year had also issued a show-cause notice to the NCP group led by Sharad Pawar following a petition filed by the Ajit Pawar faction.
The petition claimed that Ajit Pawar should be declared NCP president and should be allotted the party's symbol as per the provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Ajit Pawar reacts
"I humbly accept the decision given by the Election Commission," Ajit Pawar retweeted the post from NCP's official handle on X.
Supriya Sule reacts
NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule said that the "same conspiracy" took place with the side what happened with the Uddhav Thackeray faction in Shiv Sena.
BJP hails ECI decision
Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule congratulated Ajit Pawar for the victory and said that the ECI makes decision considering several aspects and after checking various pieces of evidence.
"I want to congratulate Ajit Pawar for getting the symbol and name...He has the majority support from MLAs and MPs...I am sure he will take the NCP ahead. Opposition makes comments to just oppose...let them speak but it is not good to make comments on EC...EC never makes wrong decisions. They give orders after checking several pieces of evidence," he said.
Ajit Pawar group to claim headquarters of NCP
According to Ajit group sources, Ajit Pawar faction will claim the headquarters of Nationalist Congress Party in Mumbai. The office was allotted to NCP by the Maharashtra government. NCP headquarters is with Sharad Pawar since the split in the party.
"Now the real NCP is Ajit Pawar faction, hence the right to this office will go to Ajit Pawar as per the rules. Apart from this, Ajit Pawar will consult senior party leaders on whether to claim the party funds or not," sources said.
Sharad Pawar faction to approach SC
Sharad Pawar faction leader Jitendra Awhad said that Ajit Pawar "choked" Sharad Pawar politically, however, the latter will "rise again from the ashes".
"This was going to happen. We already knew this... Today he (Ajit Pawar) has choked Sharad Pawar politically... Only Ajit Pawar is behind this... The only one who should be embarrassed in this is the Election Commission... Sharad Pawar is a phoenix. He will rise again from the ashes. We still have the power because we have Sharad Pawar... We will go to the Supreme Court..." he said.
Sharad Pawar faction to mull party's name and symbol
Sharad Pawar faction now has to give information about the synonyms of its party name and election symbol to the Election Commission.
According to the sources, Sharad Pawar has chosen two names and two symbols for his party.
"On Wednesday, the Sharad group will submit information about the synonyms of the party's name and election symbol to the Election Commission. Then the Election Commission will decide what name should be given to the party of Sharad Pawar group and which election symbol should be allotted," sources said.
(With ANI inputs)
