The Election Commission has allowed Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar) to receive donations ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. This decision came after a request from the party to validate its status, allowing it to accept voluntary contributions from the public.
The commission has authorised the party to "accept any amount of contribution voluntarily offered to it by any person or company other than a government company" as per the relevant sections of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which regulates the donations of the political parties.
As per the report of the PTI, an eight-member delegation from the NCP-SP, led by its working president Supriya Sule, met with the commission on Monday.
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Ajit Pawar led a rebellion against his uncle Sharad Pawar, claiming the symbol as well as the party name Nationalist Congress Party, after receiving the support of over two-thirds of the outfit's legislators in the Maharashtra assembly in July last year.
EC has rejected his claim and requested the Sharad Pawar-led faction to pick a new name as an interim measure in view of the Lok Sabha elections. The authorisation for NCP-SP to accept donations will remain in effect until the Supreme Court reaches a final decision on the ruling of the Election Commission.
Sharad Pawar Says MVA Allies To Contest Maharashtra Polls Together.
During a media conference on June 30, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar confirmed that his party, Congress, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray will jointly contest the Maharashtra assembly polls which are scheduled to be held in October this year.
Pawar also said that it is the moral responsibility of the major opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect the state assembly polls and the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP contested from the 10 seats in Maharashtra, winning 8, while Ajit Pawar's faction contested 5 seats and won one.