NCP Factional Dispute Escalates as Supriya Sule Vows to Seek Justice

This comes after the Election Commission’s decision to allocate the name ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ to the faction led by Sharad Pawar.

The Election Commission’s ruling came a day after granting the name ‘Nationalist Congress Party’ and the ‘clock’ symbol to the group led by Ajit Pawar, who had defected with a majority of NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra assembly last July to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government.

Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, emphasized her faction’s determination to seek justice through appropriate channels.

Reiterating the party’s stance, Sule reposted the party’s announcement on social media, highlighting the interim arrangement provided by the EC for their faction’s recognition. The post affirmed their intention to pursue complete justice through relevant forums.

Expressing skepticism over the EC’s decision, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader and MLA Jitendra Awhad raised concerns about the validity of the June 30, 2023 meeting, held by a faction within the NCP just days before the split. Awhad questioned the legitimacy of appointing Ajit Pawar as the national leader during that meeting and criticized the EC’s acceptance of the faction’s claim.

Amidst the escalating tensions, supporters of the Sharad Pawar faction protested the EC’s decision by defacing a board bearing the name of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the entrance of the NCP office in Pune.

Responding to the incident, Prashant Jagtap, the city unit president of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), acknowledged the wrongdoing and urged supporters from both factions to respect senior leaders of each other’s groups despite the split.