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ECI allots new name to Sharad Pawar faction. What were the three choices?
Election Commission allots 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as name for party led by Sharad Pawar.
The Election Commission on Wednesday officially designated 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the name for the party led by Sharad Pawar.
In compliance with the Election Commission of India's directives, the Sharad Pawar faction submitted three name preferences for their party, allowing its leaders to participate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
The proposed names, in order of preference, were “Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar”, “Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadrao Pawar”, and “NCP -- Sharad Pawar.”
The faction had also sought 'banyan tree' as the election symbol for itself.
The poll panel informed Sharad Pawar that it has approved his first preference, namely 'Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar,' as the official name for his group/faction, allowing it for the upcoming election to six seats in the Rajya Sabha in Maharashtra.
The NCP faced a split in July last year when Sharad Pawar's nephew and senior leader, Ajit Pawar, joined the Eknath Shinde-led government along with eight party MLAs.
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In a setback for Sharad Pawar, ECI on Tuesday officially recognised Ajit Pawar's faction as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The EC's decision is based on the "test of legislative majority," granting Ajit Pawar's group the NCP symbol amid internal election disputes.
"This Commission holds that the faction led by the Petitioner, Sh. Ajit Anantrao Pawar, is the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is entitled to use its name and reserved symbol "clock" for the purposes of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968," the EC's order read.
