'Entire Country Knows Who Founded NCP': Sharad Pawar To Challenge EC, Assembly Speaker Decisions In SC

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar called the recent decisions by the Election Commission and Maharashtra Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar 'unfair' as they termed Ajit Pawar's faction of NCP as 'real'.

Pawar declared that his faction, now officially named NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), would approach the Supreme Court to reclaim the party name and symbol.

The setback for the Sharad Pawar-led group occurred on Thursday when Assembly speaker Narwekar ruled that the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was the real NCP.

Narwekar also dismissed disqualification petitions filed by both factions against each other's Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

The Election Commission had previously identified the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the legitimate NCP, assigning him the party name and symbol, a 'clock.'

Sharad Pawar in his hometown Baramati in Pune district reportedly said, "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."

"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.

Regarding former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Pawar commented, "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."

On the matter of Maratha reservation, the former Union minister highlighted widespread support for activist Manoj Jarange, currently on an indefinite fast since February 10, urging the government to take a reasonable and concrete stand on the issue.

NCP suffered a split in July last year after Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government. The NCP was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999.