Veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s party was allotted a new name—Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar—by the Election Commission on Wednesday, a day after it ruled that the faction led by his nephew Ajit Pawar is the ‘real NCP’.
The EC had asked the Pawar camp to choose a name and symbol in view of the upcoming Rajya Sabha election and convey it to the commission by 3 pm on Wednesday.
The group suggested three names—Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadrao Pawar and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar—to the poll body. They had also sought 'banyan tree' as the election symbol.
The commission said it has "acceded to your first preference, i.e. 'Nationalist Congress Party -- Sharadchandra Pawar' as the name of your group/faction as a one-time option for the purposes of the forthcoming election to six seats in the Rajya Sabha in Maharashtra..."
Meanwhile, the Ajit Pawar faction on Wednesday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking a hearing if the Sharad Pawar group files a plea challenging the EC order.
The caveat has been filed through advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh to ensure that no ex-parte order is passed against the Ajit Pawar faction if the other group moves the top court.
The NCP suffered a vertical split after Ajit Pawar walked away with a majority of party MLAs in July last year and supported the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra.
