On Friday, the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) submitted their respective responses to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar regarding the disqualification petitions filed against each faction.
The NCP experienced a division on July 2 when Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government. Since this split, both factions have been asserting their rights to the party name and symbol. They have also filed petitions with the Speaker, seeking the disqualification of individuals aligned with the opposing faction. While the Ajit Pawar faction submitted 40 responses, the faction led by party founder Sharad Pawar submitted nine responses, sources said.
The hearing related to the disqualification petitions filed by NCP legislators is expected to be held next week. The concerned authorities will have to go through the documents and responses submitted by both sides, Vidhan Bhawan sources said. NCP is recognised as one unit in both Houses of Maharashtra legislature, they added.