Ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has approached the Supreme Court, requesting new election symbols for both factions of the party.
This plea follows the division within the NCP, which has led to two competing groups.
On Friday, a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan scheduled the hearing for September 25 after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Sharad Pawar faction, emphasized the urgency of the matter in light of the impending state elections.
The faction led by veteran leader Sharad Pawar seeks temporary symbols for both groups until a final decision is made.
This move comes in response to the Election Commission’s February 6 ruling, which recognized Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's faction as the official NCP and awarded them the party's long-standing "clock" symbol.
In March, the Supreme Court allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to use the name "Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar" and a temporary symbol of "Man Blowing Turha" for the Lok Sabha elections. However, the group now argues that the use of the "clock" symbol by Ajit Pawar's faction disrupts a fair electoral process, and they seek new symbols for both factions to ensure a level playing field.
The split within the NCP occurred in July last year when Ajit Pawar, along with a majority of NCP MLAs, aligned with the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition led by Eknath Shinde.
Sharad Pawar, who founded the NCP in 1999 after breaking away from the Congress along with Purno Sangma and Tariq Anwar, continues to challenge the Election Commission’s decision favoring Ajit Pawar's faction.