 "Sharad Pawar")
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is seeking an urgent hearing before the Supreme Court (SC) to challenge the Election Commission's (EC) decision officially recognising the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the 'real' NCP.
Sharad Pawar had previously moved the Supreme Court to challenge the ECI's decision to recognise the Ajit Pawar faction as the 'real' NCP and authorise the use of party symbols. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Sharad Pawar, has now pressed for an urgent listing of the matter, citing the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Session, which is due to commence on February 20.
"Matter of extreme urgency. Because of an Election Commission order, Sharad Pawar will be subject to the whip of Ajit Pawar. Sessions in Maharashtra start next week. We have not been given any symbol at all," Singhvi stated before the apex court.
Responding to the plea, a bench comprising the Chief Justice of India and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra assured that they would consider the urgent listing of the case.
NCP vs NCP
The dispute within the NCP arose in July 2023 when Ajit Pawar rebelled against Sharad Pawar and joined the coalition government in Maharashtra as deputy chief minister, splitting the NCP.
On February 6, the EC, after assessing the majority support in the legislative wing, determined that Ajit Pawar's faction held the majority support among NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra State Assembly. Consequently, the Commission granted the faction led by Ajit Pawar the right to use the 'clock' symbol for the party.
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In its order, the EC noted that out of the total 81 NCP MLAs, Ajit Pawar submitted affidavits of 57 MLAs in his support, while Sharad Pawar presented affidavits from only 28 MLAs.
Disqualification petitions
The Sharad Pawar faction had also previously filed for the disqualification petitions against eight MLAs for anti-party activities after Ajit Pawar's defection. The SC had earlier granted an extension until February 15 for the Speaker to issue a final order on the plea.
Despite Sharad Pawar's faction challenging the decision, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar reaffirmed Ajit Pawar's faction as the legitimate NCP and dismissed calls for the disqualification of either faction's lawmakers.
(With agency inputs)
