Sharad Pawar’s NCP now belongs to Ajit Pawar

Mumbai: 25 years after Sharad Pawar founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday ruled in favour of his rebel nephew Ajit Pawar by allotting him the party’s name and the 'clock' symbol - a decision that comes as a major setback to one of India's senior-most politicians.

For the 83-year-old Pawar, who is a four-time former Maharashtra Chief Minister, three-time ex-union minister and a former Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and his daughter Supriya Sule (54), it is a big blow and makes it difficult for the duo to resurrect their group ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The development also comes as a setback to the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A opposition bloc, in which Pawar is a key leader.

Supriya Sule said that the ECI order would be challenged in the Supreme Court and repeatedly emphasised that an "invisible force" was behind the poll body's decision - a reference to the BJP-led NDA.

In terms of numbers in law-making bodies, Ajit Pawar (64), who had anointed himself as the NCP President in June 2023 and switched over to the NDA camp in July, to become Deputy Chief Minister alongside BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis in the Eknath Shinde-led Maha Yuti government, has more legislators.

The ruling comes days before Maharashtra Legislative Assembly’s Speaker Rahul Narwekar gives his ruling on the cross disqualification petitions filed by the two warring groups.

Given the three orders - by Election Commission, Supreme Court and Speaker in the Shiv Sena case involving Uddhav Thackeray vs Eknath Shinde, the outcome of the NCP case is on expected lines. Shinde is now the chief leader of Shiv Sena while Thackeray, whose father late Balasaheb Thackeray founded the party, is now head of Shiv Sena (UBT).

The ECI conducted 10 hearings over the past few months to decide on the NCP case. The order was signed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel.

In June-July, Ajit Pawar along with party’s National President Praful Patel and top leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal and Sunil Tatkare rebelled against Sharad Pawar and Working President Supriya Sule and joined the NDA hailing the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“….In view of the aforesaid findings, this Commission holds that the faction led by petitioner, Ajit Anantrao Pawar, is the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is entitled to use its name and reserved symbol ‘clock’ for the purposes of Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968,” the order said.

The decision followed the laid-out tests of maintainability of such a petition which included tests of aims and objectives of party constitution, test of party constitution and tests of majority both organisational and legislative, the poll body said, adding: "The test of majority in the legislative wing found favour in this circumstance of the case, where both groups have found to be working outside the party constitution and the organisational elections."

“It is unfortunate. This decision was made under pressure,” said former state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who is a close aide of Sharad Pawar.

“If you look at the legislators you would know that the maximum law-makers are with us...maximum district presidents are with us, maximum party cadres in municipal corporation areas are with us,” said Ajit Pawar.

The ECI has provided a special concession to Sharad Pawar to name his new political formation in view of the imminent Rajya Sabha elections. The concession is to be utilised by 3 pm on 7 February, 2024.

What has happened is on merit: Shinde

The NCP case has been decided on merit, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who had toppled the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2022, a year before Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar. "You may see the Shiv Sena case and now the NCP...both are on merits," said Shinde, the chief leader of Shiv Sena and the head of Maha Yuti government who would lead the BJP-led alliance in 2024 general elections in Maharashtra. "In democracy, what is important is numbers that I had and also Ajit Pawar," said Shinde.