Sharad Pawar moves SC against ECI's 'real NCP' ruling
Veteran politician Sharad Pawar has moved the Supreme Court (SC) against the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s decision to recognize Ajit Pawar's faction as the official Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Last week, the ECI acknowledged Ajit's faction as the "real" NCP and granted it the "wall clock" symbol. Moreover, to be sure, Ajit's group earlier filed a caveat before the SC seeking a hearing if the Pawar faction challenged the poll body's order.
Why does this story matter?
In July 2023, Ajit, along with several party MLAs, joined Maharashtra's coalition government, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Following this, Ajit became the deputy chief minister. The move led to a split in the NCP, with one faction supporting Pawar and the other backing his nephew, Ajit. Notably, the ECI's ruling in the NCP case paralleled its decision to acknowledge the faction led by Shinde as the real Shiv Sena.
Pawar's party assigned new name
Last week, Pawar's political party was assigned the name "Nationalist Party - Sharadchandra Pawar" by the ECI. The poll panel also permitted Pawar's faction to adopt the new name prior to the elections for six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, scheduled for February 27. The ECI has not yet assigned a symbol to the NCP faction led by Pawar.
ECI 'snatched' party from hands of founders: Pawar
Earlier, Pawar called the ECI's decision "surprising" and said that the poll body "snatched" the party from the hands of its founders. He also said ideology is important for people while a symbol is only useful for a limited period, hitting out at the panel's decision to award the "wall clock" symbol to the Ajit faction. "I am confident that people will not support the ECI ruling against which we have approached the Supreme Court," Pawar said.
Pawar's faction slammed ECI for decision
Last week, in response to the ECI's decision, Maharashtra leader Anil Deshmukh from Pawar's faction said, "The Election Commission's decision under pressure is the murder of democracy." In its ruling, the ECI had said that its decision followed the laid-out tests of maintainability of such a petition. These included tests of aims and objectives of the party constitution, the test of the party constitution, and tests of majority, both organizational and legislative.
