What’s next for Sharad Pawar after losing the NCP name symbol to Ajit Pawar? – First position

Sharad Pawar suffered a major setback on Tuesday (February 6) after the Election Commission of India (ECI) recognized the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The election body attributed the party’s name and its ‘clock’ symbol to the camp led by Pawar’s nephew Ajit.

The EC also granted a unique concession to the Sharad Pawar-led faction to choose a new name and symbol for the party for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, for six seats in Maharashtra on Wednesday at 4 pm.

This comes almost a year after the EC recognized the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde as the official Shiv Sena, dealing a major blow to Uddhav Thackeray.

Why did the EC assign the NCP name and symbol to Ajit Pawar’s camp? What were the reactions to this development? What will Sharad Pawar do now? Let’s take a closer look.

What did the electoral commission say?

The EC said in its order on Tuesday that it was basing its decision on the “legislative majority test” within the Ajit Pawar faction. Last July, the younger Pawar, currently the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, revolted against his uncle and split the NCP into two groups.

As per the ECI order, out of total 81 NCP MLAs, MLAs and MLCs, 57 had supported Ajit Pawar and 28 had supported his uncle, reported Indian Express. However, five MPs and one Lok Sabha MP filed affidavits supporting both factions. Even excluding these six people, Ajit Pawar’s camp held the majority, the order said.

“The Ajit Pawar faction enjoyed majority support from legislators. (The) commission believes that Ajit Pawar is the Nationalist Congress Party and has the right to use its name and its reserved symbol “clock””, The imprint cited the ECI order as saying.

Reactions to the ECI order

The Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP called the ICE order a “murder of democracy”.

“We all know that NCP was formed by Sharad Pawar and he was the party president. But in this way, the decision taken, under pressure, is a murder of democracy. This is unfortunate,” Anil Deshmukh, MP from Sharad Pawar’s camp, told media.

Supriya Sule, NCP MP and daughter of Sharad Pawar, said the election body’s decision was the “victory of invisible power”. “This is a huge conspiracy against the people of Maharashtra and Marathi. However, I am not at all surprised by this decision. PTI she was quoted as saying.

Ajit Pawar’s camp and his ruling coalition welcomed the EC order. The junior Pawar said he accepted the decision “with humility.” “In a democracy, priority is given to the majority, which is why the electoral commission assigned us the name and symbol of the party.”

Senior NCP leader Praful Patel said the ECI’s decision showed that the majority of NCP workers and elected representatives were on Ajit Pawar’s side.

“We welcome the EC’s decision… We live in a democracy and any decision can be challenged. Perhaps attempts will be made to challenge this in the Supreme Court or High Court… All I would like to say is that the decision we took was correct and thanks to EC our decision is is found to be correct,” Patel, which belongs to Ajit Pawar. faction, reportedly declared.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis also welcomed the election body’s decision. “The Election Commission gave its verdict on the basis of merit and majority. The majority has an important role in democracy. The ECI also took a similar decision during our case,” Shinde said, according to NDTV.

Fadnavis praised Ajit Pawar in an article on X.

बहुमत और संघटन दोनो ही अजितदादा पवार साथ होन े की वजह से चुनाव आयोग ने दिया हुआ निर्णय बहुत ही अ पेक्षित है । अजितदादा पवार को इस निर्णय के लिए बधाई। लोकतंत्र की ताकत आज के निर्णय ने दिखाई।#Maharashtra #Nagpur #Democracy #NCP pic.twitter.com/6SKHNspedn

– Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) February 7, 2024

What future for Sharad Pawar?

Sharad Pawar’s camp said it would approach the Supreme Court against the ECI’s decision. Sule said the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray was facing the same situation. “I think what happened to Shiv Sena is happening to us today. So this is not a new order. Only the names have been changed, the content is the same. We will fight. We will definitely go to the Supreme Court,” she said. NDTV.

The Baramati MP said Sharad Pawar had the support of the organization and as per the Supreme Court verdict, only the organization decides who owns the party, reported Indian express.

“Sharad Pawar started this party from scratch at the age of 60, and he can do it again,” she said.

#WATCH | Delhi: Regarding the dispute with the NCP decided in favor of Ajit Pawar’s faction, Sharad Pawar’s daughter and MP Supriya Sule said, “We have already made it clear yesterday that we are definitely heading to the Supreme Court and we are very optimistic because we know we are on the right side. “. pic.twitter.com/MSAL1NkUdE

-ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2024

Jayant Patil, chairman of the Sharad Pawar Group in Maharashtra, said the Election Commission’s decision was contrary to a Supreme Court order on a related issue. “The Supreme Court (in the past) has said that even if MLAs change their loyalties, the party does not follow them. Despite this, ICE made a decision based on the elected officials and their inclination,” he said, according to PTI.

Although the battle in the Supreme Court could be long, the first task of the Sharad Pawar faction is to give a new name and symbol to the party.

The ECI asked the Pawar-led group to stake a claim for a name and propose three choices to the body. If they do not file their candidacy before 4 p.m. on February 7, their deputies will be considered independent, reported The imprint.

According to NDTV According to sources, the veteran leader is likely to finalize a name for the party containing the word “nationalist”. “Glasses,” “rising sun,” and “sunflower” are some of the options for the new party symbol. The “rising sun”, the “wheel” and the “tractor” were other options considered, Indian Express reported.

Sule said they would make a decision on the matter on Wednesday.

The Sharad Pawar camp also faces the challenge of making its new name and symbol known to the people, especially in rural areas, with the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections just months away.

Even though Sharad Pawar remains a key part of India’s opposition bloc, his bargaining power during seat-sharing negotiations could suffer after the ECI decision, according to NDTV. His camp is expected to continue allying with the Congress and the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, judgment on the disqualification pleas against MLAs from both NCP factions is before Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who is yet to announce his verdict. The hearing in the case concluded on January 31, while the decision is expected on February 15.

With the contribution of agencies