• Source:JND
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The Sharad Pawar camp, after having faced a setback with the Election Commission ruling in favour of the Ajit Pawar faction in the dispute relating to the NCP, has called it "murder of democracy." The Commission allotted the NCP symbol 'wall clock' to the group led by Ajit Pawar.

"This is the murder of democracy. What happened is unfortunate," former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh said. He also called the decision as "pressure from above".

Meanwhile, Jitendra Awhad has said that they will move to the Supreme Court. He said that the former union minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar is a phoenix, and he will rise from the ashes.

"This was going to happen. We already knew this. Today he (Ajit Pawar) has choked Sharad Pawar politically. Only Ajit Pawar is behind this. The only one who should be embarrassed in this is the Election Commission," Awhad told reporters as quoted by news agency ANI.

In a big setback to the faction led by Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission on Tuesday gave the Nationalist Congress Party name and symbol to the faction led by Ajit Pawar. The significant decision has a bearing on the forthcoming polls.

"When the election commission itself starts to legitimise theft, you know that democracy is doomed. The election commission has now once again proved to be the fraud that it is, Entirely Compromised (EC). They are now showing everyone that we aren’t a free and fair democracy anymore," posted Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on X.

The Commission has provided the Sharad Pawar faction with an option to claim a name for its new political formation and provide three preferences to the Commission. The concession is to be utilised by 3 p.m. on February 7, 2024.

The decision was taken after more than 10 hearings spread over more than six months.

The poll panel said that the decision followed the laid-out tests of the maintainability of the petition, which included tests of the aims and objectives of the party constitution, tests of the party constitution, and tests of a majority both organizational and legislative.

(With input from agencies)