The Supreme Court issued
an interim order on Tuesday regarding the ongoing dispute between Sharad Pawar
and Ajit Pawar factions within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The
directive primarily addresses concerns surrounding the use of symbols and campaign
materials by the Ajit Pawar faction, officially recognised by the Election
Commission of India (ECI) as the NCP. The SC has allowed Ajit Pawar's group to
provisionally use the "clock" symbol and directed the ECI to
recognise Sharad Pawar's NCP faction.
The interim order
outlines the following key points:
Provisional
recognition: The
Election Commission is directed to provisionally recognise the Nationalist
Congress Party led by Sharad Chandra Pawar for the purpose of contesting
upcoming Lok Sabha and state elections. The party is permitted to use the
symbol of a man blowing a trumpet.
Declaration
requirement: The Ajit
Pawar faction is instructed to carry a declaration across English, Hindi,
and Marathi media, as well as on all campaign advertisements, stating that the
clock symbol allotted to them is subject to the outcome of the pending challenge
regarding their legitimacy as the real NCP.