New Delhi | The Election Commission on Wednesday allotted 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the party name for the group led by Sharad Pawar.
The order by the poll authority came a day after it gave the Nationalist Congress Party name and the "clock" election symbol to the group led by Ajit Pawar, who had walked away with a majority NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra assembly in July last year.
The Commission had asked the Sharad Pawar group to suggest three names of which one could be allotted in view of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
Accordingly, the Sharad Pawar group has suggested the names -- Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party -- Sharadrao Pawar and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar -- to the Commission.
The faction had also sought 'banyan tree' as the election symbol for itself.
The Commission conveyed to Sharad Pawar that it has "acceded to your first preference, i.e. 'Nationalist Congress PArty -- Sharadchandra Pawar' as the name of your group/faction as a onetime option for the purposes of forthcoming election to 6 seats in the Rajya Sabha in Maharashtra..."
Mumbai | The Sharad Pawar-led group of the NCP on Wednesday said it will approach the Supreme Court against the Election Commission's order recognising the rival Ajit Pawar faction as the "real" party and allotting it the "clock" election symbol.
Clyde Crasto, a spokesperson of the 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar', the name allotted by the EC for the group led by the former Union minister, said the poll panel's order goes against a Supreme Court directive which gives importance to a political party over its legislative wing in case of a dispute.
"We will obviously go to the Supreme Court. There is a Supreme Court directive which says that legislative party cannot be chosen over the political party. So if the decision has gone against the Supreme Court's verdict then we will go approach to the Supreme Court because we have faith in it," Crasto said.
On Tuesday, the EC gave the Nationalist Congress Party name and the "clock" election symbol to the group led by Ajit Pawar, who had walked away with a majority NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra assembly in July last year and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government.
The Ajit Pawar faction is the 'real' Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the EC had said in its ruling that came as a major setback to party founder Sharad Pawar.
Ajit Pawar is now a deputy chief minister.
On Wednesday, the poll authority allotted 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the party name for the group led by Sharad Pawar.