Sharad Pawar requests an immediate hearing in the Supreme Court on the EC ruling that acknowledges the Ajit-led group as the legitimate National Congress Party

NEW DELHI: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction headed by Sharad Pawar has requested an expedited hearing in the Supreme Court to contest the Election Commission’s decision to recognize the Ajit Pawar-led group as the legitimate NCP.

The action, according to the Sharad Pawar-led group, has put the faction in a difficult position since they may now have to follow the Ajit Pawar group’s orders during the next Maharashtra Assembly session, which is set to start on February 20.Attorney Abhishek Singhvi, who was representing Sharad Pawar, was given the assurance by the CJI that his case against the EC ruling will be urgently listed.
Speaking on Thursday, Rahul Narwekar, the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, said that the Ajit Pawar-led group is the true National Congress Party (NCP) because of legislative majority rules. The Speaker emphasized in his statement that the legislative majority had a crucial role in this decision since the NCP’s leadership structure and constitution did not provide sufficient proof.

The Sharad Pawar group filed disqualification petitions against the Ajit Pawar faction, which the Speaker addressed and denied. The Speaker said that rather than being a defection from the NCP party, the acts and remarks made, especially by Ajit Pawar and the supporting MLAs, were considered intra-party dissent. Additionally, Narwekar said that no one from the Sharad Pawar camp is ineligible and so excluded anybody from that party.