'Because Of ECI Order, Sharad Pawar Will Be Subject To Ajit Pawar's Whip' : Singhvi Tells Supreme Court Seeking Urgent Listing Of NCP Case

Highlighting the urgency in the matter, the senior advocate informed the bench that there is a likelihood that Sharad Pawar may face a whip issued by Ajit Pawar since the Maharashtra Assembly Session would commence next week. It was further informed Sharad Pawar's faction has yet not been allotted any party symbol.

“ It will be a strange situation, because of the ECI order, Sharad Pawar will be subject to the whip of Ajit Pawar, when the Assembly starts next week. That order is under challenge, it is identical to the questions of law raised in the other matter (UBT-Shinde dispute)....please list it on Monday or Tuesday, because the session in Maharashtra starts at the end of the week..on the 20th…They have not given me any symbol at all, it is worse than the Uddhav Thackeray Case.”

The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to list the matter at the earliest.

On February 13, Sharad Pawar filed his Petition which challenges the order passed by the ECI on February 6 by which the official 'clock' symbol of NCP was allotted to the Ajit Pawar group.

The ECI has granted approval to the application submitted by the Ajit Pawar faction, seeking to use the official symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968. In reaching this decision, the ECI employed the criterion of "legislative majority," acknowledging that the Ajit Pawar faction possesses the majority of legislators with 51 out of 81.

The Commission pointed out that the other assessments, such as the "aim and objectives" and the "organisational majority" tests, did not yield conclusive results in this particular case. Therefore, the ECI relied on the legislative majority test as the decisive factor.

Recently, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar refused to disqualify MLAs from the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar or Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's factions of the NCP and relied on the Election Commission's order - recognising Ajit Pawar as the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The speaker dismissed five petitions filed by both factions.

“Ajit Pawar faction had overwhelming legislative majority when split happened. This faction is the real NCP political party for these proceedings.” Narwekar held adding that no party leader should use the 10th Schedule of the Constitution to quell opposition.

Background

The rift in the NCP emerged in July last year, after a section led by Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel broke ranks with the then-party supremo Sharad Pawar and joined hands with the BJP- Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) alliance. In a swift development, Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of the Maharashtra Government.

In July itself, the Ajit Pawar faction approached the ECI seeking the official symbol of the NCP. The Sharad Pawar faction has filed petitions before the Maharashtra Speaker seeking the disqualification of Ajit Pawar and the MLAs backing him under the tenth schedule of the Constitution on the ground that they have defected from the party.

The Supreme Court originally set a deadline of January 31, 2024 for the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions. Last week, the Supreme Court extended the time for the Speaker till February 15.