‘EC snatched NCP from hands of its founders and gave it to others’

Pune, Feb 11: Senior politician Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Election Commission’s decision to allot the NCP name and symbol to Ajit Pawar-led group was “surprising” as the poll body has “snatched” the party from the hands of its founders and gave it to others.
Sharad Pawar also said the programme and ideology are important for the people while a symbol is useful for a limited period.
In a setback to Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission on February 6 recognised the Ajit Pawar faction as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and also allotted the party symbol ‘clock’ to the group led by him.
“I am confident that people will not support the Election Commission ruling against which we have approached the Supreme Court,” Sharad Pawar told reporters in Pune.
The Election Commission not only snatched our symbol but also handed over our party to others, he said.
“The EC snatched the party from the hands of those who founded and built it and gave it to others; such a thing never happened before in the country,” said Pawar, who founded the NCP in 1999 after breaking away from Congress.
The veteran politician who had served as chief minister of Maharashtra and also as union minister, recalled that he had contested his first election on the symbol of ‘a pair of bullocks’.
“The programme and ideology are more important than any symbol,” senior politician said.
The EC had said that its decision followed the laid-out tests of maintainability of such a petition which included tests of aims and objectives of the party constitution, the test of party constitution and tests of majority, both organisational and legislative.
The poll body has allotted ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ as the party name for the group led by Sharad Pawar. (PTI)