Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 6: Even as the union home minister Amit Shah hailed the Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar for joining hands with the Shiv Sena (Shinde) – BJP government in Maharashtra, the Election Commission of India might be placed in a piquant position to recognise the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP and regularise his membership of the State Assembly.
With the Ajit Pawar faction making no further move to establish himself as the real NCP, the Sharad Pawar camp has told the Election Commission that Ajit Pawar’s demand for the NCP’ election symbol is “premature” and “malafide” and should be rejected. His ‘petition’ to the Election Commission “does not reflect or evidence the presence of two factions of NCP,” they have contended.
Ajit Pawar and MLAs loyal to him joined hands with the BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance in Maharashtra last month and took oath as ministers. Like the Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde, they claim they are the real NCP, since they have the support of a majority of party MLAs. The faction led by him have approached the Election Commission, claiming the party name and poll symbol.
They have told the Election Commission that Ajit Pawar was elected the chief of NCP through a resolution dated June 30, 2023, signed by an “overwhelming majority” of party members.
But the Sharad Pawar faction pointed out that “Ajit Pawar has not been able to demonstrate even prima facie that there exists a dispute In NCP… ECI has also not made any prima facie determination that there is any dispute existing between NCP led by its National President Shri Sharad Pawar and the former members of NCP (being led by Ajit Pawar),” party sources said on Sunday.
“Before 01.07.2023, neither did Ajit Pawar raise any grievance against Sharad Pawar/NCP nor did he request for a meeting with Sharad Pawar or any other leader of NCP… As on the date (1.7.2023) of filing the ‘Petition’ does not reflect or evidence the presence of two factions of NCP,” the Sharad Pawar camp has contended.
The Ajit Pawar loyalists claim they are not a faction, but the one and the same party and they hope to persuade Sharad Pawar to go along with their decision to join Maharashtra’s ruling alliance. “I don’t want to comment on issues regarding our internal party matters… Sharad Pawar continues to remain our idol and we want him to accept the political decision we have taken. We will persuade him,” Praful Patel – once a Sharad Pawar loyalist — has repeatedly told the media.
The legal experts point out that the question of “majority support” could be considered by the ECI or the speaker of the State Assembly only in the event of a “split” in the party. In the absence of a split, Sharad Pawar remained the national president and violation of his whip not to join hands with the BJP could attract disciplinary action and suspension from the party and the state Assembly. So far, there is no indication that Sharad Pawar had agreed with their contention that the NCP as a party should join the Maharashtra government.
Meanwhile, at a function in Pune on Sunday where Amit Shah was sharing the dais with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the union home minister said Ajit Pawar had finally come at the “right place.”
“Ajit Dada (Pawar) has come for the first time after becoming the Deputy Chief Minister and I am sharing the stage with him. I want to tell him that after a long time, you are sitting at the right place,” Shah said. “This was the right place but you took too long to come,” he said.
Amit Shah, who also holds the Cooperation portfolio, is in Pune as part of a two-day visit and was speaking at an event to launch the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies office in Pune.
