On Saturday, seasoned politician Sharad Pawar criticized the Election Commission’s decision to recognize his nephew Ajit Pawar’s faction as the legitimate Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), stating it was not in accordance with the law. He confirmed that he had approached the Supreme Court to challenge this decision.
Pawar expressed concern over the unprecedented move of removing the founders of a political party and stripping them of their party symbol. He emphasized that this decision was not aligned with legal principles and stressed the importance of expanding public outreach. Furthermore, he highlighted the urgency of the situation, especially with the looming Maharashtra Assembly Session scheduled to commence on February 20, where Ajit Pawar’s influence might pose challenges to his leadership.
In a bid to seek justice, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi urgently sought the listing of the matter in the Supreme Court. Singhvi argued that Sharad Pawar’s faction had been deprived of party symbols, potentially subjecting them to Ajit Pawar’s authority in the upcoming legislative sessions. The bench, comprising the Chief Justice of India and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged the urgency and assured to review the case promptly.
This legal battle stems from the Election Commission’s decision on February 6, wherein they recognized Ajit Pawar’s faction as the legitimate NCP, based on the majority support of legislators. The commission noted that out of the total 81 NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly, Ajit Pawar’s faction presented affidavits from 57 MLAs, while Sharad Pawar’s faction had only 28. Consequently, the commission permitted Ajit Pawar’s faction to utilize the ‘clock’ symbol for the party.
Despite Sharad Pawar’s objections and legal challenges, the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, Rahul Narwekar, upheld Ajit Pawar’s faction as the authentic NCP during a recent ruling, rejecting calls for the disqualification of either faction’s lawmakers.
This dispute traces back to July 2023 when Sharad Pawar’s faction filed disqualification petitions against eight MLAs for their involvement in anti-party activities following Ajit Pawar’s departure from the party to join the coalition government as the deputy Chief Minister.
Jayant Patil, a loyalist of Sharad Pawar, pursued swift resolution of the disqualification petitions by seeking direction from the Speaker for a time-bound adjudication, citing a similar precedent set by the Supreme Court in a previous case involving a party dispute within the Shiv Sena.
In response to the apex court’s directive, the Speaker was tasked with expediting the resolution of the disqualification petitions, emphasizing the need for swift and fair adjudication in matters concerning party integrity and legislative representation.
