NCP chief Sharad Pawar made these remarks in Kolhapur following a meeting with Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a member of the erstwhile royal family…reports Asian Lite News
NCP founder Sharad Pawar stated on Tuesday that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) members have reached an agreement on 39 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
Further discussions will be held for the remaining five to six constituencies. Maharashtra sends a total of 48 members to the Lok Sabha.
Pawar made these remarks to reporters in Kolhapur following a meeting with Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a member of the erstwhile royal family.
Pawar virtually proposed Shahu Maharaj as the MVA nominee for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
When asked about seat-sharing discussions among Opposition parties, Pawar mentioned the consensus on 39 seats, with discussions ongoing for the rest. He also noted that he hadn’t discussed Shahu Maharaj’s candidature with other allies like Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress yet.
Pawar expressed his support for Shahu Maharaj’s candidacy, highlighting his long-standing social work aligned with the values of past social reformers.
Despite Shahu Maharaj’s usual avoidance of political events, Pawar noted his active participation in social initiatives. In the 2019 general elections, BJP and Shiv Sena (then undivided) jointly won 41 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, while the NCP and Congress together secured only 5 seats.
However, the political landscape has evolved since then, with vertical splits in Shiv Sena and NCP, while BJP continues to consolidate its position by welcoming leaders from rival parties.
‘NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar’ name
The Supreme Court on Monday held that the Election Commission’s order dated February 7 granting the name ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ to the faction led by Sharad Pawar will remain valid until further order.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and K.V. Viswanathan directed the Ajit Pawar-led faction to respond to Sharad Pawar’s plea challenging the Election Commission’s February 7 order, which recognised the group led by Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister as the official Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The bench granted Sharad Pawar the liberty to approach the Election Commission for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allocate it within one week of receiving the application.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Sharad Pawar, said that the Election Commission’s February 7 order was an interim arrangement made for the Rajya Sabha elections until February 27, leaving their group without a name or symbol ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly session scheduled to start from February 26.
The plea arraying Ajit Pawar as respondent was filed by Sharad Pawar on February 12 through advocate Abhishek Jebaraj.
The Ajit Pawar side has already filed a caveat last week, saying that it should be heard before the top court proceeds to pass any order.
A caveat serves as a notice submitted to an appellate court by a litigant who wishes to be heard in case any orders are issued regarding an opponent’s appeal that challenges the decision made by the lower judicial or quasi-judicial body.
Delivering the verdict on the disqualification petitions filed by both rival NCP factions after the party split in June 2023, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled last Thursday that the faction led by Ajit Pawar is the ‘real’ NCP.
The NCP split in July last year, with a faction led by Ajit Pawar rebelling against his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar to join the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra. After that, both sides laid claim to the party name and symbol.
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