Ajit Pawar faction the real NCP, says Election Commission

The Ajit Pawar faction is the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Election Commission announced on Tuesday, 6 February, ending months of speculation over the factional fight with his party founder and uncle Sharad Pawar.

In an order, the Election Commission (EC) also allotted the NCP symbol of the 'wall clock' to the group led by Ajit Pawar.

The decision followed the laid-out tests of maintainability of such a petition, which included tests of aims and objectives of the party constitution and tests of majority, both organisational and legislative, the Commission said.

"The test of majority in the legislative wing found favour in this circumstance of the case, where both groups have been found to be working outside the party constitution and the organisational elections," the poll authority observed.

The EC made a concession to the group led by Sharad Pawar by allowing it a "one-time option" to claim a name for its political outfit and provide three preferences by the afternoon of 7 February, in view of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Ajit Pawar had walked away with a majority of the NCP MLAs in July 2023, and supported the BJP–Shiv Sena government led by chief minister Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra.