Sharad Pawar Deems Election Commission and Assembly Speaker's Decision on NCP Matter 'Unfair'

On Saturday, Sharad Pawar, the founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), expressed dissatisfaction with the decisions made by the Election Commission (EC) and Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar regarding the NCP issue. Pawar deemed the verdicts unfair and announced that his faction would seek recourse through the Supreme Court to reclaim the party name and symbol.

Following a setback on Thursday, where Speaker Narwekar ruled in favor of the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the authentic NCP, Pawar's group, now officially referred to as NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), faced a setback. Additionally, Narwekar dismissed disqualification petitions lodged by both rival groups against each other's MLAs.

Days following the Election Commission's declaration of the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the legitimate NCP and granting them the party name and symbol, a similar ruling was made. The decision did not come as a surprise to us. Sharad Pawar, speaking to reporters in his hometown of Baramati in Pune district, criticized the assembly speaker, asserting that he failed to uphold the dignity of his position. Pawar deemed the rulings made by both the Election Commission and the speaker unjust and announced their intention to seek recourse through the Supreme Court concerning the issue of the NCP name and symbol.

We had anticipated such a decision. The assembly speaker failed to maintain the dignity of his position. The decisions taken by the Election Commission and the speaker are unfair. Therefore, we are approaching the Supreme Court over the issue of the NCP name and symbol, Sharad Pawar told reporters in his hometown Baramati in Pune district.

Those who formed the party were removed from it. This has never happened before. This decision was not right as per the judicial system. We have approached the Supreme Court over this issue. The entire country knows who founded the party, he added. When asked about former chief minister and Congress veteran Ashok Chavan joining the BJP, he said, These days, the effect of multiple agencies, such as ACB and ED, has increased and it can be clearly seen how they are being used against the Opposition.