EC rules Ajit faction is real NCP, Sharad Pawar faction will go to Supreme Court

The faction led by Sharad Pawar has been given a one-time concession to choose a new name and symbol for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections for six seats in Maharashtra. They have been asked to submit their options by Wednesday, 4 pm.

In its final order sent to both sides on Tuesday, the EC said it had relied on the test of majority in the party’s legislative wing to decide the dispute, which arose in July last year. According to the order, the total number of MPs, MLAs and MLCs of the NCP was 81, of which 57 had supported Ajit Pawar and 28 had supported Sharad Pawar. But, five MLAs and one Lok Sabha MP had submitted affidavits supporting both sides. Even if these six were excluded, Ajit Pawar’s faction had the majority support, it said.

The EC said it had to reject the test of majority in the party’s organisational wing as the internal elections appeared to be “without any foundational basis”. It said the documents brought on record showed that the names of members of the working committee were “announced” by Sharad Pawar.

The Sharad Pawar group had argued that the test of majority in the Assembly could not be the sole determinative factor as nine MLAs were facing disqualification. They argued that Sharad Pawar had “overwhelming majority support in the organisational wing”.

On the other hand, the Ajit Pawar group had cited the EC order in the Shiv Sena dispute, where the EC said test of majority in the organisational wing of the party cannot be an indicator of which faction enjoys support if the party is not run in a democratic manner.

The EC said it had received a petition under the Elections Symbol Order, 1968, from Ajit Pawar on July 1 last year. The petition, dated June 30, claimed that Sharad Pawar was “running the party in total disregard” of the party constitution and its rules, and that he (Ajit Pawar) enjoyed the support of the majority within the party.

In his petition, Ajit Pawar said Sharad Pawar was elected party president at a national convention on September 10-11, 2022, in a manner that was against the party constitution. He said there was no record of the people who attended the convention and ratified the election.

On July 2, Jayant Patil, of the Sharad Pawar group, wrote to the EC saying nine MLAs had indulged in “anti-party activities” by joining the BJP-Shiv Sena government the same day.

In its order, the EC said it would be failing in its duties if it did not address the issue of “non-transparent functioning” of political parties in the country.

“A majority of symbol dispute cases which come before the Commission under Paragraph 15 of the symbols order show that political parties are either not holding regular organisational elections, or not holding them as per party constitution, or have amended their constitution (so) that elections have turned into appointments…When democratic elections get replaced by appointments or when the elections are held contrary to the provisions of the party constitution…the result is that the party becomes a private fiefdom of a single person or group of select individuals and the party is run like a private enterprise,” the EC order observed.

The EC said it hoped all political parties would voluntarily disclose details of organisational elections.

Reacting to the development, Sule said: “It is the victory of the invisible power. The man who founded the party is facing defeat. We are getting the order which Shiv Sena got from the EC. The same conspiracy was hatched against the Thackeray family. This is a conspiracy against Maharashtra. The decision is not at all shocking to us.”

“We will definitely approach the Supreme Court and challenge the order,” Sule said. She said the organisation stands with Sharad Pawar and, as per the Supreme Court order, only the organisation decides who the party belongs to. “Sharad Pawar raised this party from zero at the age of 60, and he can do it again,” she said.

“The order proves that all constitutional organisations have lost their autonomy… We believe the Supreme Court will do justice,” said Jayant Patil, Maharashtra president of the Sharad Pawar group.

Welcoming the decision, Ajit Pawar, who is also the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, said: “There were certain developments in our party and we had approached the EC to seek justice. Both sides placed their arguments. Majority is vital in a democracy. Finally, the verdict on party name and symbol has come in our favour. The EC has accepted submissions made by our counsel, and we thank the EC. With this, the responsibility upon us has increased,” Ajit Pawar said.

The dispute in the NCP came to light on July 2, 2023, when Ajit Pawar, along with eight MLAs, joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. As per the documents submitted to the EC, Ajit Pawar had signed a letter informing the EC of the split two days before that.