After the hours-long hearing in the Election Commission on whether Sharad Pawar is the head of the NCP or NCP belongs to his nephew Ajit Pawar whose rebellion split the party, advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Sharad Pawar, said the logic presented by the other side is strange and non-existent. "In our preliminary objection, we said that you are obliged to determine as a threshold issue whether there is a dispute or not. The commission heard us but said we will not decide at this stage," Singhvi said.
The argument of the other side, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's faction, will continue in the next hearing, Singhvi said. "We have not yet replied to that. It is interesting, amazing and, to me, non-existent in law. They are saying they do not want the organisational test. They know that 99% of the NCP cadre is with the man standing next to me, the man who founded it, dreamt it. They are saying ignore the organisational test...they invented a new test that count the MP, the MLA and then something that I have never heard of -- that is count the votes of MPs, MLAs."
At the hearing, Ajit Pawar claimed the support of 42 MLAs, six MLCs and 2 MPs from Maharashtra. Senior advocates NK Kaul and Maninder Singh presented Ajit's side at the Election Commission. "Under the circumstances, the petitioner submits that he enjoys overwhelming support in the Organisational Wing as well as Legislative Wing of the NCP and therefore the present petition may be allowed by the Hon'ble Commission by recognising the faction led by the petitioner to be the real Political Party," Ajit Pawar said in his submission to the Election Commission. Singhvi said these claims are imaginary as Ajit Pawar is running away from the established tests to determine this.
{{/usCountry}}At the hearing, Ajit Pawar claimed the support of 42 MLAs, six MLCs and 2 MPs from Maharashtra. Senior advocates NK Kaul and Maninder Singh presented Ajit's side at the Election Commission. "Under the circumstances, the petitioner submits that he enjoys overwhelming support in the Organisational Wing as well as Legislative Wing of the NCP and therefore the present petition may be allowed by the Hon'ble Commission by recognising the faction led by the petitioner to be the real Political Party," Ajit Pawar said in his submission to the Election Commission. Singhvi said these claims are imaginary as Ajit Pawar is running away from the established tests to determine this.
{{/usCountry}}Ajit Pawar had approached the Election Commission on June 30, staking claim to the party name and the symbol, two days before he announced his rebellion and joined the Maharashtra government.
Before the EC hearing, Sharad Pawar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
Rude words used against Sharad Pawar: Jitendra Awhad
NCP leader Jitendra Awhad said that rude words were used against Sharad Pawar at the hearing. Sharad Pawar was sitting there when Ajit Pawar's lawyer said Sharad Pawar never followed democratic values while running the party/