‘Our party is Sharad Pawar, our symbol is Sharad Pawar’, say his supporters

Pawar saheb is a determined person, he would start afresh, said Supriya Sule adding that the ECI order would be challenged in the Supreme Court.

Mumbai: 'Our party is Sharad Pawar and our symbol is Sharad Pawar,' said supporters of the octogenarian politician in the view of the Election Commission of India order on the party name Nationalist Congress Party and the 'clock' election symbol slipping away from them even as the ruling was on expected lines.

Sharad Pawar’s team indicated that there was an “invisible force” behind the ECI decision.

Politics in Baramati, the bastion of the Pawar-family is not going to be the same anymore.

For 83-year-old Sharad Pawar and his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule, the days ahead are going to be difficult as the NCP President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is going to woo the remaining rank and file before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“You take away the party from a person who has established it. It is a conspiracy against Marathi people. You first did with Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray…now the same happened and is happening for NCP and Sharad Pawar. He started from zero and established himself…it is injustice to the people of Maharashtra,” said Supriya Sule, who was in New Delhi for the Parliament session.

“Pawar saheb has started from scratch several times… this time around the invisible force was behind what happened… Pawar saheb is a determined person, he would start afresh,” she said adding that the ECI order would be challenged in the Supreme Court.

“Our party, our symbol…Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar,” said close aide Jayant Patil, a former minister and who is the chief of Maharashtra unit of the beleaguered parent group.

“The order is on expected lines… we are not rattled or dejected… for us the party is Sharad Pawar and the symbol is Sharad Pawar,” said Sharad Pawar aide and former minister Dr Jitendra Awhad.

“I am with my Saheb always,” said NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto.

“Saheb knows the pulse of the people. He has a big following among the people of Maharashtra. He has faced several challenges in life. You may recall on the day Ajit Pawar moved to NDA, a question was put to Saheb who would be the reliable face of the party…to which Saheb raised his hand and replied Sharad Pawar. Also you must see his confidence and you may recall his rain-soaked photo of Pawar Saheb during the last day of the Vidhan Sabha campaign in Satara in 2019…he is a fighter to the core,” a senior NCP leader told DH.

Supriya Sule also hit out at the BJP-led Centre for what she described as misuse of 'ICE'. “The 'tod-mod' politics that is going on in this country is beyond the Constitution. What is happening is not good for democracy. ICE - Income Tax, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate - is being used by this government and parties and families are being broken. This is an ongoing trend in this country. This will have to be fought against this together,” she said.

“This is the murder of democracy. What happened is unfortunate,” former minister Anil Deshmukh said.

BJP congratulates Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule welcomed the ECI decision in the NCP case and congratulated Ajit Pawar. “The decision from the ECI is very important. We congratulate Ajit Pawar. The decision of the ECI after hearings is very important,” he said. “Ajit Pawar, who is a constituent of Maha Yuti has been recognized by the ECP as NCP party as well as been allotted the watch symbol. I heartily congratulate him, all colleagues and workers,” added Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.