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Mumbai:
NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) on Wednesday challenged the Nationalist Congress party led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to abandon the clock symbol and contest the Lok Sabha with a new symbol election.
The Sharad Pawar Organization also said Tuesday’s Supreme Court order dealt a “heavy blow” to the Ajit Pawar camp.
Notably, the Supreme Court has asked the Ajit Pawar-led faction to publish a notice in English, Hindi and Marathi newspapers stating that the ‘clock’ symbol is sub judice and its use is subject to adjudication.
The Supreme Court also allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to use “Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar” as its name and “Blow Tulha” in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. A traditional trumpet, also called a tutari) as its symbol.
“This crucial decision by the Supreme Court bench comes as a heavy blow to Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction. The court warned that compliance with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution is an important aspect in deciding cases related to defection,” NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said in a statement.
He added that this decision of the Supreme Court is not only a major setback for Ajit Pawar’s group but also draws a line for other factions who may have illegal political defection ambitions with the help of the BJP .
“If the Ajidada faction has one percent of self-respect left, I challenge them to abandon the clock symbol and face our candidates with new symbols,” Tapas said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
