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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), worried over the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra due to a Narendra Modi wave and anti-incumbency, is locked in a legal battle to retain its identity. The NCP is opposing a petition filed by one Kumar Kamalesh Krupashankar at the State Election Commission (SEC) for registration of a party called the Rashtrawadi Congress Party.
The NCP, during a hearing at the SEC on Tuesday, said: “Rashtrawadi Congress Party is only the translation of the Nationalist Congress Party, the registered name of our political party into Marathi or Hindi language. Further, the SEC’s order on March 31, 2009, makes it clear that the name of a political party proposed to be registered should not 'resemble the name of a political party already registered with SEC, giving rise to confusion in the minds of general public.”
The NCP was represented by Shivajirao Garje, state general secretary. The SEC has asked the NCP to make further submissions by May 6. The NCP has already submitted 3,000 objections at the SEC against the petition.
Incidentally, the issue was discussed at length at a meeting convened by party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar with state ministers and leaders on Tuesday.
The NCP argued the impression among the public is that the NCP and the Rashtrawadi Congress Party is one and the same association/group/body of persons. ''Therefore, registration of any party/group/association as a political party with the name ‘Rashtrawadi’ is bound to obviously cause total confusion in the minds of the general public as contemplated by the SEC order delivered in March 2009. Consequently, such registration will be totally illegal and hence impermissible in law,” the NCP said.
According to the NCP, the Central Election Commission had granted registration to it under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in the name of ''Nationalist'' Congress Party.
''Ours is the only recognised political party in India and nobody else has any right to name themselves either as Nationalist Congress Party of Rashtrawadi Congress Party,'' the party said.
Moreover, the NCP submitted that the SEC has no jurisdiction, power or authority to take any action in this regard and appealed to dismiss the petition.
