Sharad Pawar’s Party Allotted New Poll Symbol By Election Commission

New Delhi:

Days after the Election Commission awarded the NCP name and ‘clock’ symbol to the Ajit Pawar faction, a new symbol has been allotted to the camp led by the party’s founder Sharad Pawar. The symbol given to the Nationalist Congress Party (Shardchandra Pawar) is called ‘man blowing turha’.

The ‘turha’ is a traditional trumpet and is also known as ‘tutari’. “The Tutari in the form of great valour of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had once deafened the emperor of Delhi. It is a great honour for our party to get Tutari (Man Blowing Turha) as our symbol for upcoming elections. Our Tutari is now ready to shake Delhi’s throne under the leadership of Sharadchandra Pawar,” NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) said in a post on X.

The Election Commission’s order in favour of the Ajit Pawar-led faction had been given on February 6 and, on Monday, the Supreme Court had said that the name given to the Sharad Pawar camp would continue till further orders. 

Hearing a petition by the Sharad Pawar camp against the February 6 order, the bench had given the NCP founder liberty to approach the Election Commission for the symbol. It had also directed the poll panel to allot the symbol within a week of the Sharad Pawar group applying for it.

Appearing for the NCP founder, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi had pointed out that the name allotted to the Sharad Pawar faction was an interim arrangement made by the Election Commission till the Rajya Sabha elections, which will be held on February 27.

“The budget session of Maharashtra assembly is scheduled to start from February 26 and our group will be without any name or symbol after February 27. The order said that Ajit Pawar side is the real NCP, which we will contest at a later stage. But for the Rajya Sabha elections, Sharad Pawar can use the name as a one-time measure. After February 27, technically I will be nameless, symbol-less and will be bound to obey the whip of Ajit Pawar,” Mr Singhvi had said.

Allotting the symbol to the Sharad Pawar camp on Thursday, the Election Commission wrote, “The Commission has already allotted the name of ‘Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar’ to the group led by Sh. Sharad Pawar (respondent) as per the Commission’s Final Order dated 06.02.2024 in Dispute Case No. 2 of 2023, till further orders by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter. Further, as per the request received, ‘Man Blowing Turha’ is allotted to the group/party in all the parliamentary constituencies in the State of Maharashtra.

In a huge jolt to his uncle and the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar had split the NCP in July 2023 and taken oath as a deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-led government. Eight other NCP MLAs had been sworn in with him.