Ajit Pawar Faction as Legitimate NCP, Rejects Disqualification Petitions

In a significant ruling, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar declared the NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the authentic representation of the party, dismissing numerous petitions seeking the disqualification of legislators from the opposing NCP faction.

Narvekar emphasized the principle of legislative majority, asserting that Ajit Pawar’s faction held the support of the majority of MLAs in the Legislative Assembly, thus establishing it as the ‘real NCP’.

“The Ajit Pawar faction had a decisive majority during the split… The fact that he had the backing of 41 out of 53 MLAs is indisputable, outweighing the MLAs of the Sharad Pawar faction. The volume of disqualification petitions filed reflects the strength of both factions,” stated the Speaker. He further clarified that the actions of the MLAs did not fall within the purview of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, thereby dismissing disqualification pleas from both sides.

The Speaker’s ruling addressed petitions filed following the vertical split in the NCP, when Ajit Pawar departed from the party in July 2023 to join the ruling MahaYuti government in Maharashtra. Disqualification petitions were initially lodged by the Sharad Pawar group against nine MLAs of Ajit Pawar’s faction, who assumed ministerial roles in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s government, followed by petitions against the remaining 31 MLAs of the breakaway group. Subsequently, the Ajit Pawar faction filed its own petitions against 10 MLAs of the Sharad Pawar group.

On Thursday, the Speaker dismissed all rival petitions and determined that none of the MLAs from either side were subject to disqualification. “Before joining the government, the Ajit Pawar faction outnumbered the Sharad Pawar faction in terms of MLAs and MLCs. Two parallel party presidents and structures existed before July 2, 2023, when Ajit Pawar joined the government,” Narvekar elucidated. This decision marks another setback for Sharad Pawar, following the Election Commission of India’s recent recognition of the Ajit Pawar group as the ‘real NCP’, alongside the allocation of the party name and its ‘Clock’ symbol.

The Sharad Pawar faction, temporarily named ‘NCP Sharad Chandra Pawar’, has contested the ECI decision in the Supreme Court. The Speaker’s verdict has drawn criticism from NCP-SP and key leaders of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) like Nana Patole, Jitendra Awhad, Eknath Khadse, Clyde Crasto, Aditya Thackeray, and Sanjay Raut, while the Ajit Pawar group celebrates across various state offices.

Ajit Pawar refrained from commenting until reviewing the Speaker’s verdict, but his party colleagues, including chief whip Anil Patil, have welcomed the ruling.