The Supreme Court on Monday directed that the Election Commission’s order of February 7 allotting ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ as the party name for the Sharad Pawar faction will continue till further orders.
The apex court said that the poll panel’s order granting Sharad Pawar the right to use the name Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar shall continue. The top court bench further granted the liberty to Sharad Pawar to move the poll panel for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allow it within one week of the application.
The development came after Sharad Pawar challenged the Election Commission order recognising the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the top court.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan also sought a response from the Ajit Pawar-led faction on a plea of Sharad Pawar against the Election Commission’s order recognising the Maharashtra deputy chief minister-led group as the ‘real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’.
“We would like to examine the matter,” the bench said as it issued notice to the Ajit Pawar led-faction.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar held that the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar was the ‘real NCP’ and that the anti-defection provisions in the Constitution could not be used to stifle internal dissent.
On February 16, the top court had agreed to urgently list the plea after Sharad Pawar stated that a whip may be issued by the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
For the unversed, the Election Commission of India on February 6 announced the Ajit Pawar faction is the real NCP and also allotted the party’s ‘clock’ symbol to the group. The special Maharashtra assembly session is beginning on February 20.
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