Election Commission's decision on NCP: Accept this decision with humility, says Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar said that he 'accepts with humility' the Election Commission's ruling to declare his faction as the real NCP

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said that he 'accepts with humility' the Election Commission's ruling to declare his faction as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), reported the PTI.

The NCP leader's reaction came shortly after the poll panel announced that the Ajit Pawar faction is the real NCP.

The Election Commission's ruling ended months of speculation over the factional fight between Ajit Pawar and party founder and his uncle Sharad Pawar.

The Election Commission also allotted the NCP symbol 'wall clock' to the group led by Ajit Pawar.

The decision followed the laid-out tests of maintainability of such a petition which included tests of aims and objectives of party constitution, test of party constitution and tests of majority both organisational and legislative, the commission said.

"The test of majority in the legislative wing found favour in this circumstance of the case, where both groups have found to be working outside the party constitution and the organisational elections," the poll authority observed.

The Election Commission has officially recognized Ajit Pawar's faction as the real NCP, citing a "test of legislative majority" as a determining factor in the decision. This move comes after disputed internal organizational elections within the NCP.

"This Commission holds that the faction led by the Petitioner, Ajit 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," Election Commission's order read.

According to the Election Commission, the Ajit Pawar faction's ability to demonstrate legislative majority played a crucial role in securing the NCP symbol.  "'Test of legislative majority' helped Ajit Pawar faction clinch NCP symbol in view of disputed internal organisational elections," newswire PTI reported quoting Election Commission.

Meanwhile, former Maharashtra minister and Sharad Pawar camp leader Anil Deshmukh said that the Election Commission's decision to announce the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP, was taken under pressure.

"This is the murder of democracy. What happened is unfortunate," Deshmukh said on Tuesday.

(with PTI inputs)

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