Top leaders, including city president Prashant Pawar and district chief Baba Gujar, distributed sweets among party workers at its Bajaj Nagar office while the workers danced and applied gulal on each other’s faces.
“First the Election Commission granted us the symbol and now the speaker has taken a decision to grant us the party name. Undoubtedly, NCP led by Ajit Pawar would have an advantage in the forthcoming elections,” NCP state president Sunil Tatkare told TOI.
Prashant Pawar said the verdict cleared the confusion in people’s mind about the real NCP. The party led by Ajit Pawar would perform better in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Now, more leaders, office-bearers, MPs, MLAs and corporators will approach us.”
Gujar said leaders and workers in Vidarbha were deprived of opportunities in the reign of party founder Sharad Pawar. “It is only after Ajit Pawar split the party that leaders along with city and district presidents have been given a free hand. In his uncle’s era, there used to be only one ‘sardar’ (chief) in Vidarbha, who used to run the unit as per his whims and fancies.”
Accusing the BJP of following undemocratic practices, senior NCP leader and Sharad Pawar loyalist Anil Deshmukh told TOI the speaker’s decision was ‘copy-paste’ of the one originally dictated from Delhi. “Narwekar was finding it difficult to even read his own verdict. He only signed the copy-paste draft. We will move the SC to get back our symbol.”
NCP (Sharad Pawar) youth leader and Zilla Parishad member Salil Deshmukh said that the speaker’s ruling was expected as the same judgment was pronounced in the Shiv Sena case, where party and symbol was allotted to the faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde. “The ruling will not affect us and the public would continue to stand by us. In gram panchayat elections there are various symbols, but the voters elect the same panel members with sarpanch in a majority of cases. The people will definitely teach a befitting lesson to BJP for such unethical practices and splitting opposition parties,” he said.