NEW DELHI: The Election Fee on Friday met the 2 factions of the Nationalist Congress Occasion (NCP), one led by Sharad Pawar and the opposite by his nephew Ajit Pawar, over their claims to the occasion title and ballot image for over two hours. NCP founder Sharad Pawar was current on the private listening to of the rival faction referred to as by the ballot panel, which determined to proceed the proceedings on October 9 (Monday).
Ajit Pawar had moved the Election Fee staking declare to the occasion title and ballot image in July. He had submitted that he had the assist of 42 of the 53 NCP MLAs in Maharashtra, six of the 9 MLCs, all seven occasion MLAs in Nagaland and one MP every within the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. On the listening to, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared earlier than the ballot panel on behalf of Sharad Pawar whereas senior advocates N.Okay. Kaul and Maninder Singh have been current representing Ajit Pawar.
The faction led by Ajit Pawar had rebelled towards NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and moved the ballot panel staking declare to the occasion title and image. “Beneath the circumstances, the petitioner submits that he enjoys overwhelming assist within the organisational wing in addition to legislative wing of the NCP and due to this fact the current petition could also be allowed by the Fee by recognising the faction led by the petitioner to be the actual political occasion,” Ajit Pawar mentioned in his submission to the Election Fee.
The Ajit Pawar faction submitted its arguments in assist of its declare earlier than the ballot panel on Friday. In the meantime, Singhvi informed the media after the assembly that “we appeared immediately and for over two hours the listening to went on”. “The primary a part of the listening to was our preliminary objection the place we mentioned that you’re obliged to find out as a threshold problem whether or not there’s a dispute… your jurisdiction is dependent upon whether or not there’s a dispute…,” Singvi mentioned.
“The Fee heard us however mentioned that we are going to not determine at this stage. That utility we now have liberty that rejection we will problem within the court docket if we want and we are going to take that call collectively later,” Singhvi mentioned. “Their first argument is that we don’t need the organisational take a look at. They know that 99 per cent of the overwhelming NCP cadre is with the person standing subsequent to me (Sharad Pawar). The person who based it (the occasion) and created it and they’re saying to disregard the organisational take a look at,” he mentioned.
“Second factor they’re saying is that though the Supreme Court docket has clearly mentioned that when disqualification is pending, you can not apply the legislative majority take a look at… However they are saying that no, we are going to distinguish on this means and that means. “So they’re working away from the organisational take a look at and they’re out of the legislative take a look at as a result of the Supreme Court docket says no… However they create a take a look at to swimsuit themselves. They invented a brand new take a look at to rely the MPs, rely the MLAs, after which they add to rely the votes which the MLA sor MLCs received,” SInghvi mentioned.
Two days earlier than rebelling towards uncle Sharad Pawar to affix the Maharashtra authorities in early July, Ajit Pawar had approached the EC on June 30 staking declare to the occasion title in addition to the image. Subsequently, he additionally declared himself because the occasion president with the assist of 40 MLAs.