In a major jolt to veteran leader Sharad Pawar, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Nationalist Congress Party’s clock symbol will continue to remain with Ajit Pawar ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections.
The court has made it clear that the Ajit Pawar faction “has to implement” its previous order “meticulously,” which had made it compulsory for the group to give disclaimers in the election advertisements by making it clear that the final order in the matter is yet to come.
“If this turn of events amounts to a deliberate attempt at flouting our interlocutory order, then we may consider suo motu contempt action,” the Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan said.
This order follows an interim direction following a petition filed by the Sharad Pawar faction against the Election Commission’s decision to allow the party name and symbol to the Ajit Pawar-led group. The Sharad Pawar faction had urged the court that fresh symbols should be allotted to both factions for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.
The bench, which passed the order today, heard complaints from the Sharad Pawar faction, alleging that the Ajit Pawar group had defied the court’s order by not carrying disclaimers on their election posters and banners, creating “large-scale confusion” among voters during the Lok Sabha elections.
The bench called upon the Ajit Pawar faction to avoid creating “an embarrassing situation.” “Please file a fresh undertaking that you will abide by our directions now and until the elections are over. Cooperation is expected from both parties,” said Justice Kant.
The NCP was formed in 1999 by Sharad Pawar, former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after the trio was expelled from the Congress. In July last, an unhappy Ajit Pawar over Sharad Pawar’s leadership joined hands with the BJP-Shiv Sena government headed by Eknath Shinde, taking the lion’s share of MLAs with him.
Following complaints by the Sharad Pawar faction, a division bench of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, on February 15, held that the Ajit Pawar-led faction was the true NCP. He explained that the anti-defection law would not apply in the instant case since this was an internal tussle and that there were adequate numbers on their side.
Thereafter, the Election Commission allotted the ‘clock’ symbol to the Ajit Pawar group while allowing the Sharad Pawar faction to function as the “Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar” with the “Man Blowing Turha” symbol.
The NCP earlier represented the clock symbol floated by Sharad Pawar. The NCP was also opposed to being allotted to the Ajit Pawar faction on grounds that it would create confusion among voters. The Supreme Court upheld the order passed by the Election Commission, pending further hearing, saying Ajit Pawar’s group cannot use Sharad Pawar’s name and signature for political gains.
