NCP vs NCP: Ajit Pawar Faction Files Caveat In Supreme Court After ECI Order

Anticipating a challenge by Sharad Pawar against the ECI order in the Supreme Court, the Ajit Pawar Faction filed a caveat in the top court saying that no order should be passed without hearing them

The Ajit Pawar Faction on Wednesday filed a caveat in Supreme Court anticipating a petition by Sharad Pawar faction’s against the Election Commission of India (ECI) order. The caveat says that no order should be passed by the top court in Sharad Pawar's plea without hearing Ajit faction.

The ECI on Tuesday recognised Ajit Pawar's faction as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Commission also allotted the NCP symbol 'Wall Clock' to Ajit Pawar's faction.

The ECI explained that it considered various factors, including the aims and objectives of the party constitution, organisational elections, and legislative majority. The commission noted that both factions were found to be working outside the party constitution and organisational 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 giving 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.

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."

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the ECI's decision.