Major Jolt To Sharad Pawar As ECI Declares Ajit Pawar Faction As Real NCP — Top Points

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that Ajit Pawar's faction is the real Nationalist Congress Party.

The decision came after more than 10 hearings spread over more than six months, ending speculation over the factional fight with his party founder and uncle Sharad Pawar.

Source : Facebook/@AjitPawarSpeaks

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday ruled in favour of Ajit Pawar, saying his faction is the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Commission also allotted the NCP symbol 'Wall Clock' to Ajit Pawar's group.

The decision came after more than 10 hearings spread over more than six months, ending speculation over the factional fight with his party founder and uncle Sharad Pawar.

• Explaining the rationale behind its decision, the Election Commission stated that it considered various factors, including the aims and objectives of the party constitution, organizational elections, and legislative majority. The commission noted that both factions were found to be working outside the party constitution and organizational elections. Consequently, the test of majority in the legislative wing favoured Ajit Pawar's faction.

• "The test of majority in the legislative wing found favour in this circumstance of the case, where both groups have found to be working outside the party constitution and the organisational elections," the poll body said in its order.
  
  
• The ECI has provided a special concession to the Sharad Pawar-led group by allowing it a "one-time option" to claim a name for its political outfit and provide three preferences by Wednesday afternoon in view of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
  
  
• Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar welcomed the Election Commission's decision, stating, "Election Commission has ruled in our favour after listening to the arguments of our lawyers. We welcome this humbly", ANI reported.
  
  
• In the order, the poll body stated, "When democratic elections get replaced by appointments or when the elections are held contrary to the provisions of the Party Constitution or when the elections are held in an opaque or obscure manner without disclosing the notifications, the electoral college, the place of election, etc, the result is that the Party becomes a private fiefdom of a single person or group of select individuals and the Party is run like a private enterprise. Such situations also lead to the party workers, who are at the bottom of the pyramidal hierarchy, to lose touch with the apex-level representatives."
  
  "The political parties form an important pillar on which our democratic governance stands and when this pillar is afflicted by an undemocratic way of functioning, there will be reverberations in the national polity," it added.

• Addressing reporters in New Delhi, Sharad Pawar's daughter and NCP MP Supriya Sule expressed her disappointment with the ECI's ruling. She stated, "This is a huge conspiracy against Maharashtra and Marathi people. However, I am not at all surprised by this decision." She further added, "The new names and symbol as asked by the ECI will be submitted tomorrow and then you will come to know about it."

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the ECI's decision, affirming its merit and reflecting the majority's role in democracy.

Ajit Pawar had walked away with a majority of NCP MLAs in July last year and supported the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra.