The Election Commission of India has accepted the demand raised by the 'Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar' (NCP-SCP) to accept voluntary contributions from the public in view of the upcoming State Assembly Elections in Maharashtra. An 8-member delegation of the NCP-SCP, led by their working President Supriya Sule, met the Commission today at Nirvachan Sadan.
The party had requested the Commission to issue a communication or certificate recording the party's status for the purpose of accepting voluntary contributions from the public.
Section 29B of the RP Act permits every political party to accept any amount of contribution voluntarily offered to it by any person or company other than a government company.
After the decision, MP Supriya Sule responded, stating, "Today, we had four important hearings in Delhi. Given how Sharad Pawar's party was taken away, it is clear that the people have blessed us, and we are grateful for their support."
She added, "We were temporarily assigned the 'Tutari' symbol but were not given the authority to collect checks or avail tax benefits. Now, our request has been accepted."
Addressing the confusion surrounding the 'Tutari' symbol, Supriya Sule mentioned, "We requested that no other party be given a similar symbol where ours is present. We hope that no other party faces such injustice."
Regarding the NCP's (Sharad Pawar faction) request about the symbol, she said, "The commission informed us that they would study the matter."
On July 16, a hearing concerning the NCP's name and symbol will take place. The political circles are keenly observing which side the decision will favor. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, eight out of ten NCP MPs were elected from Sharad Pawar's faction. Thus, the Election Commission's decision could raise the issue of numerical strength. The Supreme Court's ruling on the Election Commission's decision is highly anticipated.