THE Supreme Court on Monday directed that Election Commission’s order of February 7 granting name of ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ for the group led by Sharad Pawar will continue till further orders. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan sought response of Ajit Pawar-led faction on a plea of Sharad Pawar against the February 7 order of Election Commission recognising the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister-led group as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The bench gave liberty to Sharad Pawar to move the poll panel for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allot it in one week of the application. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sharad Pawar, said that order passed by the Election Commission on February 7 is an interim arrangement made by the poll panel for Rajya Sabha elections till February 27.

 

“The Maharashtra Assembly session is scheduled to start from February 26 and our group will be without any name or symbol,” he submitted. Sharad Pawar had sought an urgent hearing of his plea in the top court in the wake of twin blows suffered by the group led by him and the consequential fear of facing action for possible violations of whip by his MLAs. He had sought urgent hearing in view of the February 15 order of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar. Narwekar held that the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar was the real NCP and that the anti-defection provisions in the Constitution cannot be used to stifle internal dissent. Prior to this, the poll panel announced on February 7 that the Ajit Pawar faction is the real NCP and also allotted the party’s ‘clock’ symbol to the group. The one day special Maharashtra Assembly session on Maratha quota is beginning on February 20.