An SC bench sought a reply from Ajit Pawar's faction in relation to Sharad Pawar's plea against the Election Commission's February 7 order, recognizing the group led by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister as the authentic Nationalist Congress Party.
The Supreme Court issued a directive on Monday, instructing that the Election Commission's decision of February 7 to maintain the name 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' for the faction led by Sharad Pawar will remain in effect until further notice.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan requested a response from the faction led by Ajit Pawar in response to Sharad Pawar's plea challenging the Election Commission's February 7 order, which acknowledged the group led by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister as the authentic Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Granting Sharad Pawar the freedom to approach the poll panel for the allocation of the party symbol, the bench directed the panel to make the allotment within one week of the application.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Sharad Pawar, emphasized that the Election Commission's order on February 7 is a provisional arrangement made for the Rajya Sabha elections until February 27.
“The Maharashtra assembly session is scheduled to start from February 26, and our group will be without any name or symbol,” Singhvi stated.
Sharad Pawar urgently sought a hearing in the top court due to setbacks faced by his group and the ensuing concern about potential action for alleged violations of the whip by his MLAs.
He pressed for immediate attention following the February 15 order of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who declared that the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar was the authentic NCP. Narwekar asserted that constitutional anti-defection provisions cannot be employed to suppress internal dissent.
Earlier, on February 7, the poll panel declared the Ajit Pawar faction as the genuine NCP and assigned the party's 'clock' symbol to the group. The one-day special Maharashtra assembly session on the Maratha quota is set to commence on February 20.