The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the Ajit Pawar faction as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) while asking the party’s founder Sharad Pawar to look for a new name for his outfit ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Maharashtra.
The ECI said that the constitution of the “apex representative bodies” of NCP – the Working Committee and the National Committee – were shrouded with doubt in view of the disputed organisational elections held in 2022.
“In the absence of any coherent and substantial document brought on record which would have shown that these bodies were constituted as per the Party Constitution and thus undisputed, the Commission proceeded to determine the present dispute case on the basis of test of majority in the legislative wing,” it said.
The commission examined the affidavits of support filed by both factions and concluded that the group led by Ajit Pawar – also the nephew of party patriarch Sharad Pawar – enjoyed majority support among the legislators.
“In view of the aforesaid findings, this Commission holds that the faction led by the Petitioner, Ajit Anantrao Pawar, is the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is entitled to use its name and reserved symbol ‘clock’ for the purposes of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968,” it said.
In a 141-page order, the poll body said that it is providing a one-time option to Sharad Pawar to claim a new name for his new political formation and provide three preferences for the Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
“The applications for the same must be received in the Commission latest by 4 pm February 7, failing which, the MLAs claiming allegiance to the Sharad Pawar faction will be treated as independent for the purpose of Rule 39AA of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961,” the order said.
It was in July 2023 that rebel Ajit Pawar took the party battle to the ECI when he filed a petition. In September, the poll body registered that there were two divisions in the Maharashtra-based party, and personal hearings started in October.
The numbers
As per the ECI order, Ajit Pawar had the support of 41 MLAs from Maharashtra, seven from Nagaland, one from Jharkhand, as well as two MPs from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha. He also enjoyed the support of one MLC from Maharashtra.
On the other hand, Sharad Pawar had the support of 15 MLAs from Maharashtra and two from Kerala. He also got support from four Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs along with four MLCs from Maharashtra.
Birth of NCP
The party was formed by Sharad Pawar in 1999 after his exit from the Congress. His political career dates back to the late 1950s when he joined the Congress. In 1999, he was expelled from the party after Sonia Gandhi became its president and he raised the issue of her foreign origin.
The NCP became a national party in 2000. However, in April 2023, it lost this status. In May 2023, Sharad Pawar stepped down from the party presidency. Days later he reversed his decision and withdrew his resignation. Things started going downhill after that.
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