NATIONALIST CONGRESS Party (NCP) headed by Sharad Pawar has asked Election Commission of India (ECI) to not take cognisance of the claims made by Ajit Pawar group, and has sought to know what proof was submitted to it about the meeting of Ajit’s group where Sharad Pawar was allegedly removed from the president’s post. “Our party has not witnessed any split. We have written to the Election Commission of India telling them that there was no need to take cognizance of the letter sent to them, because we are the only single party,” said NCP MLA and Sharad Pawar loyalist Jitendra Awhad. After the rebellion by Ajit Pawar on July 2, his group on July 5 wrote to ECI claiming they were the original party and staked claim on the party name and symbol. The letter further claimed that Sharad Pawar was removed from the president’s post on June 30 in a meeting held by NCP. The ECI had sought a reply from the Sharad Pawar group on claims made by Ajit's side. Awhad said it was an attempt to create confusion. “Praful Patel himself had given the letter to ECI declaring Sharad Pawar as party president. In that case where is the proof of a meeting held on June 30. If there is any evidence, we have sought it,” he added. The NCP MLA added that the Supreme Court in its verdict has clarified that a few MLAs quitting and claiming the party name cannot be accepted. Earlier, Awhad announced that NCP president Sharad Pawar will kick off his statewide tour on August 17 from Beed in Marathwada region. “Pawar saheb will attend the party workers meeting and later address the public rally in Beed. Our MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar is organising the event,” he said.
