Ajit Pawar faction to stake claim to party symbol, Sharad Pawar’s NCP files caveat with poll body

The fight for the party name and symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is set to reach the Election Commission soon.

The NCP faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is mulling the option of approaching the Election Commission (EC) after Wednesday’s key meeting. This comes even as the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has filed a caveat with the poll body.

The Ajit Pawar faction is expected to stake claim over the party name and symbol, sources told India Today.

The Sharad Pawar faction has filed a caveat asking the Election Commission to listen to them too before taking any decision on the party name and symbol.

The NCP split vertically after Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs rebelled against party founder Sharad Pawar and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government on July 2.

Then a full-blown tussle broke out in the NCP as rival factions went on a sacking spree to tighten their grip over the organisation and sought disqualification of lawmakers in each other’s camps.

Both the factions will be holding key meetings today in a bid to prove that they have the support of the majority of the party’s MLAs. The NCP has 53 MLAs in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Currently, 24 MLAs are with Ajit Pawar and 14 MLAs are backing Sharad Pawar.

While the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has issued a whip to all MLAs asking them to remain present for a key meeting in Mumbai, the Ajit Pawar faction issued a notice to all current and former legislators, parliamentarians, office-bearers, working committee members and others, asking them to attend a meeting in Bandra.