The Rising Sun Wheel and Tractor: Sharad Pawar Mulls New Party Symbol After Losing EC Battle To Ajit

Mumbai: With Election Commission recognising faction led by Ajit Pawar as real NCP, sources within the political circles revealed that Sharad Pawar is mulling to propose the adoption of "The Rising Sun Wheel and Tractor" as the party's symbol to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

In a major setback for NCP founder Sharad Pawar, the poll panel on Tuesday declared faction led by his nephew as the real NCP, giving it charge of party name and ‘clock’ symbol. Furthermore, Sharad Pawar is likely to advocate for retaining words like ‘Nationalist’ and ‘Congress’ for his party's identity.    

In the meanwhile, Sharad Pawar's daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya called the EC move a ‘conspiracy’ and affirmed that she would approach the Supreme Court with the plea to reverse poll panel's decision in favour of Ajit Pawar. 

The Ajit Pawar faction, with 41 out of 53 NCP MLAs on its side, won the NCP symbol after a "test of legislative majority" amidst disputed internal organizational elections. The Election Commission considered his faction's 41 affidavits of support, while the rival faction led by Sharad Pawar limitd to 15 affidavits in their favour.

The judgment read: "With regard to the organizational wing, it was seen that the constitution of the apex representative bodies of the NCP that the working committee and National Committee were shrouded with doubt in view of the disputed organizational elections held in the year 2022. In the absence of any coherent and substantial document brought on record which would have otherwise shown that these bodies were constituted as per party constitution and thus undisputed, the Commission proceeded to determine the present dispute case on the basis of test of majority in the legislative wing."

With major blow to Sharad Pawar faction, the dominance of Ajit Pawar indicates his charge over NCP's name, symbol, assets and bank accounts. The complete takeover of the party will likely place massive financial pressure on the opposition. 

In view of the Rajya Sabha elections, Sharad Pawar has been tasked with finalising a name for his party and symbol and communicate the same to the poll panel by 3 PM today.