Sharad Pawar Accuses Ajit Pawar
Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on the factional dispute within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) over its ‘clock’ symbol, Sharad Pawar’s camp has leveled serious charges against Ajit Pawar. The veteran leader’s faction has accused Ajit Pawar, who heads the breakaway group, of “creating confusion” among voters and attempting to “unduly benefit” from the goodwill associated with the iconic symbol. In its affidavit, Sharad Pawar’s camp has requested the Supreme Court’s permission to submit six documents to substantiate its claims.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of the BJP-led Mahayuti’s sweeping victory in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, where Ajit Pawar’s faction secured 41 seats while Sharad Pawar’s camp managed only 10. This follows a major political realignment last year, when Ajit Pawar rebelled and split the NCP. He joined the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena government with the support of a significant number of MLAs.
In the aftermath, the Election Commission recognized Ajit Pawar’s faction as the ‘real’ NCP, awarding it the party’s name and the ‘clock’ symbol. Sharad Pawar’s camp challenged this ruling in the Supreme Court, which then allowed it to use the name “Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar” and a new symbol, a man blowing a trumpet, for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
The Supreme Court is set to hear the matter today. This legal battle over the symbol represents a broader power struggle between the two factions of the NCP, which was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, along with PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar.
