Ajit Pawar to move EC soon for party name, and symbol, Sharad Pawar's NCP files caveat

The Ajit Pawar-led group of the NCP will soon approach the Election Commission of India to stake claim on the party's name and symbol. Former principal secretary (Maharashtra legislature), Anant Kalse, said Ajit Pawar will have to file an application before the ECI for securing the name and symbol of the party. "If Ajit Pawar is claiming that he represents the NCP, he will have to get approval from the ECI. He will have to clear the triple test for the purpose," Kalse told TOI. The Sharad Pawar faction has filed a caveat asking the Election Commission to listen to them too before taking any decision on the party name and symbol.

Both the factions will be holding key meetings today in a bid to prove that they have the support of the majority of the party's MLAs. The NCP has 53 MLAs in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Currently, 24 MLAs are with Ajit Pawar and 14 MLAs are backing Sharad Pawar. While the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has issued a whip to all MLAs asking them to remain present for a key meeting in Mumbai, the Ajit Pawar faction issued a notice to all current and former legislators, parliamentarians, office-bearers, working committee members and others, asking them to attend a meeting in Bandra. In a dramatic turn of events which followed months of speculation that he was cosying up to the ruling BJP, the Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar — who is also NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s nephew — led a vertical split in his party and joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance on Sunday afternoon. Ajit Pawar took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the fifth time, setting a record for the largest number of appointments to this position since it was created in 1978. He will share the post with the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds a battery of other portfolios, including Home and Finance.