Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar.
Acknowledging a split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Election Commission has called the rival factions of the party for a personal hearing on Friday. The faction led by Ajit Pawar had rebelled against NCP leader Sharad Pawar and moved the poll panel, staking claim over the party name and symbol.
After due consideration of the totality of information available on record, the commission has arrived at the conclusion that there are two rival groups in the Nationalist Congress Party-one led by Sharad Pawar and the other by Ajit Pawar, a functionary said, citing provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order.
Since each group is claiming to be the party, the matter required a substantive determination by the commission, the functionary said.
Two days before rebelling against uncle Sharad Pawar to join the Maharashtra government in early July, Ajit Pawar approached the EC on June 30, staking claim to the party name as well as symbol, and subsequently also declared himself as the party president with the support of 40 lawmakers.
Recently, the Sharad Pawar-led faction told the EC that there was no dispute in the party except that a few mischievous individuals had defected from the organization for their personal ambitions, a reference to the rebel group headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.