Supreme Court Issues Notice to Ajit Pawar Faction Over NCP Symbol Dispute Ahead of Maharashtra Assembly Election

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and others regarding a plea filed by the NCP faction led by veteran leader Sharad Pawar concerning the use of the "clock" symbol. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant, issued notices to the deputy chief minister and the other parties involved, seeking their replies on the matter.

The top court directed Ajit Pawar to file a fresh undertaking over its March 19 and April 4 directions to issue a public notice saying 'NCP's 'clock' symbol is sub-judice', was being meticulously complied with even during the process of the state assembly elections.

Supreme Court issues notice to Ajit Pawar faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on the plea of Sharad Pawar faction over the use of the ‘Clock’ symbol in the Assembly election pic.twitter.com/eo2PPSjq6a

— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2024

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The notice follows a challenge brought by Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) to the Supreme Court months ago, contesting the Maharashtra Speaker's decision to recognize the rival factions led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as the official Shiv Sena and NCP blocs.

In July, the Supreme Court sought responses from Ajit Pawar and his 40 MLAs concerning a petition filed by the Sharad Pawar faction. This petition challenged Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's ruling that the group led by the deputy chief minister was the legitimate Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).