'Everyone Knows Who Is The Party Founder': Sharad Pawar To Attend ECI Hearing On NCP Split

"Everyone knows who is the party founder," NCP chief Sharad Pawar said.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he will attend the Election Commision of India (ECI) hearing in Delhi on October 6 to present his side regarding the split in his party.

Speaking to reporters at Junnar in Maharashtra's Pune district, Pawar said, "Everyone knows who is the party founder." He further stated that he has got summons and he will remain present for the hearing.

The Sharad Pawar-founded NCP split on July 2 after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra. Both groups have staked claim over the name and symbol of the party and petitioned the ECI in this regard.

"What the common man thinks is important. Some people have taken a different political stand and I don't want to comment on it as it is their right in a democracy. But, Maharashtra and the rest of the country know who is the founder of NCP. There is truth in what my people say that the situation is favourable to us," Sharad Pawar said.

"Those who have joined hands with the BJP cannot belong to the NCP. We don't accept compromise in such a manner," he added.

Responding to a query regarding the opposition bloc, Pawar said that the next course of action of the I.N.D.I.A alliance will be finalised in the next few days. "People want a change and that will be seen after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," he added. 

Meanwhile, NCP MP and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule said that there is no fight in the party adding there is no question of the symbol ‘going away'.

“There is no fight in the NCP... The party was established by Sharad Pawar 25 years ago... From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, everyone knows NCP means Sharad Pawar. NCP national president is Sharad Pawar, and the Maharashtra state president is Jayant Patil. There is no question of it (the symbol) going away. The party was made by Sharad Pawar, so the symbol should remain with him it is obvious,” Supriya Sule said while speaking to reporters in Nagpur.