SC directs Ajit Pawar's NCP not to use Sharad Pawar's photos in campaign material

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave direction to the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party not to use photos and videos of party founder Sharad Pawar in his campaign material for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, it was reported Live the law.

“You try to stand on your own two feet, now that you have an ideological difference Sharad Pawar,” said judges Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan Bar and sofa.

The court was hearing a petition filed in October by Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party seeking to restrain the rival group from using the bell symbol in the state polls.

The petition sought that the Ajit Pawar faction should be given a new election symbol to avoid confusion among voters. There was a need for fairness and clarity in the election process, the Sharad Pawar-led group said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for the Sharad Pawar faction on Wednesday and submitted to the court photographs and videos published by Ajit Pawar faction candidate Amol Mitkari.

Singhvi said the rival group was trying to piggyback on Sharad Pawar’s reputation Live the law. He added that the Ajit Pawar faction did not comply with the Supreme Court’s earlier order.

On October 24, the Supreme Court told Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party to do so add a disclaimer in all its campaign materials for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, clarifying that the use of the ‘bell’ symbol is subject to jurisdiction.

“Please concentrate on the battlefield, people will answer everything,” the court told the Ajit Pawar faction on Wednesday. “They (the voters) are very wise and know where to vote and how to vote. We do not doubt their wisdom. They know who Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar are. These video clips may or may not sway voters. But if there is an order of this court, it must be faithfully respected.”

The Ajit Pawar group agreed not to use Sharad Pawar’s photos in his campaign materials.

The court has set the case for hearing on November 19.

In July 2023, Ajit Pawaralong with several party MLAs joined the Maharashtra coalition government comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. After joining the coalition, Ajit Pawar became deputy chief minister.

The move had led to a split in the Nationalist Congress Party, with one faction supporting Sharad Pawar and the other supporting Ajit Pawar.

In February the Election Commission recognized the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the real Nationalist Congress Party and awarded it the bell symbol historically associated with it.

The poll panel awarded the name “Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar” to the Sharad Pawar-led group.

This group received the “man blows a turhasymbol ahead of the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, but the move was challenged by the Sharad Pawar faction in the Supreme Court.

In March, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan ordered that the Ajit Pawar-led faction be allowed to use the bell symbol for the Lok Sabha polls.

However, the court required the party to issue a public notice in the newspapers – in English, Hindi and Marathi – clarifying that the use of the symbol is below the right. The party was ordered to place similar disclaimers in all its election campaign materials, including posters and banners.

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