The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday asked the Sharad Pawar faction to submit three names for their party, after the commission ruled that the Ajit Pawar faction was the "real" Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The deadline for submitting the names was 4 p.m. today, and the Sharad Pawar faction has submitted three names.
According to reports, the proposed names are Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Chandra Pawar, and Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Rao Pawar. The EC will now choose one of these names for the Sharad Pawar faction. The Sharad Pawar faction has also proposed the banyan tree as their symbol.
The ECI had asked for the names in order to allow the Sharad Pawar faction to contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. If they had not submitted any names, their candidates would have been considered independents.
On Tuesday the Election Commission awarded the party name and symbol to Ajit Pawar, arguing his group is the 'real' Nationalist Congress Party because it has more MLAs in the state Assembly. The NCP has 53 MLAs and only 12 of them have sided with Sharad Pawar.
The Sharad Pawar faction is planning to approach the Supreme Court against the decision to award the NCP name and symbol to Ajit Pawar. However, until the verdict is delivered, the faction will have to use a new name. This decision could also be applicable in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and beyond. Currently, Uddhav Thackeray is also forced to operate under a different party name.
The ECI's decision is reminiscent of its earlier ruling in the "Sena vs Sena" case, where it awarded the Shiv Sena name and symbol to the Eknath Shinde faction. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena is now contesting elections under a new name and symbol.