The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (February 19) said that the Sharad Pawar faction can use ‘Nationalist Congress Party – Sharad Chandra Pawar’ as its name till further orders.
According to LiveLaw, the apex court made these remarks while hearing a plea filed by Sharad Pawar challenging the Election Commission’s decision to recognise Ajit Pawar’s faction as the authentic Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The top court also allowed him to approach the Commission for allocation of a party symbol, directing the poll panel to allot it within one week of the application.
During a court session last Friday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi brought up this petition before Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, pressing for an urgent listing.
Singhvi highlighted the imminent risk of Sharad Pawar facing disciplinary action from Ajit Pawar during the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Session.
Stressing the urgency, Singhvi pointed out that Sharad Pawar’s faction hasn’t been allocated any party symbol, leaving them susceptible to Ajit Pawar’s directives.
In Monday’s hearing, Singhvi appealed to the court to extend the interim arrangement, as approved by the Election Commission, which allows the use of the name ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Chandra Pawar’ until the conclusion of the Rajya Sabha elections on February 27.
Additionally, he requested the court to instruct the commission to issue a symbol promptly.
The senior counsel also cited the apex court’s interim order in a similar petition filed by Uddhav Thackeray, contesting the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the Eknath Shinde faction as the official Shiv Sena.
Although the court declined to halt the Commission’s order last year, it allowed the Uddhav group to maintain the name ‘Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’. The court also permitted the flaming torch symbol during the pendency of the matter. This was also granted by the commission for the Maharashtra assembly bye-elections.