‘NCP’ office in Parliament complex for Sharad Pawar group: LS Secretariat

Amid controversy over the allocation of a room in the Parliament House complex to the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Lok Sabha Secretariat has clarified that it was meant for the faction headed by Sharad Pawar.

On September 11, the Estate and Heritage Management branch of the Lok Sabha Secretariat came out with a list of smaller parties allocated rooms in Parliament House and Samvidhan Sadan -- the old Parliament building.

According to the list, the NCP was allotted room 126-D in Samvidhan Sadan.

Since the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has more members of Parliament than the "real" NCP, the room allocation triggered a controversy in poll-bound Maharashtra.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a corrigendum the following day, noting that the room had been allocated to NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has eight Lok Sabha members while the NCP has one. In the Rajya Sabha, the NCP has three members while the Sharad Pawar faction has two.

Two other Maharashtra parties -- the Eknath Sinde-led Shiv Sena and the Shiv Sena (UBT) headed by Uddhav Thackeray -- have become neighbours in Samvidhan Sadan after being allocated adjacent rooms.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) will occupy the room once held by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The BSP now has only one Rajya Sabha member and no presence in the Lok Sabha.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key BJP ally in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has been allocated a room in Parliament House or the new Parliament building.

The Janata Dal (U), another NDA constituent, has been allocated a room in Samvidhan Sadan.

AAP, which holds the tag of a national party, has also been allocated a room in Samvidhan Sadan.

The rooms have been allocated for the tenure of the 18th Lok Sabha, constituted in June following the parliamentary polls.

Based on their numerical strength, parliamentary parties are allocated rooms in the Parliament House complex where they hold meetings.