The Supreme Court on Wednesday instructed the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party to refrain from using photographs or videos of party founder Sharad Pawar - from whose side Pawar junior orchestrated a split in July last year - during campaigning for next week's election.
"Learn to stand on your own feet..." a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said, as it heard a plea by Pawar senior to stop his nephew using the symbol of a clock - the former undivided NCP's logo - to represent his party in this election.
The court's jab came after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi said an old video of Sharad Pawar was being circulated - by the Ajit Pawar camp - and could be misunderstood as stating the two Pawars are not rivals, which would allow the nephew's faction to pick up extra votes.
Dismissing objections by the Ajit Pawar camp, represented by senior advocate Balbir Singh, who said the video is not part of current campaign material, Justice Surya Kant said, "Whether or not it is old video... you have an ideological difference with Sharad Pawar and are fighting against him. Therefore... you should try to stand on your own legs."
The court directed Ajit Pawar's office to issue a circular to party leaders and workers to not use the video in question or any other photograph or video of Sharad Pawar. "Find your own identity as a separate and distinct political party..." Justice Kant said, asking for a notice of compliance.
Earlier in the hearing Mr Singhvi criticised the Ajit Pawar camp for "piggybacking" on Sharad Pawar's popularity, particularly for 36 seats in which the two NCP factions are direct rivals.
"Voters will get confused. He (Ajit Pawar) knows he has to piggyback on Sharad Pawar's goodwill and, as we get closer to the election, he is repeating, egregiously and blatantly, the same felony..."
"The idea (behind circulating the video of Sharad Pawar) was to show linkage... that we are one (and) when you vote for (Sharad) Pawar (you) vote for the Pawar family as a whole... that we are not divided and that Ajit Pawar is (still) close to Sharad Pawar," Mr Singhvi argued.
He also pointed to a tweet by a lawmaker to make his point, telling the court, "The question is simple... you (the Ajit Pawar faction) are under an injunction (to not campaign using the name of Sharad Pawar) by this court... then why on earth does an MLC post my (Sharad Pawar's) photo?"
Today's hearing follows a protracted tussle over the clock symbol; the court had earlier said the Ajit Pawar camp could use the logo but had to declare publicly that the final ruling is pending.
READ | Supreme Court's 36-Hour Deadline To Ajit Pawar Over 'Clock' Symbol
Last week the Ajit Pawar camp was rapped for failing to comply with that order; the Deputy Chief Minister was given 36 hours to do so. The court took a dim view when Pawar junior's party claimed to have issued 52 notifications but could not identify the statement in hoardings.
Use of the undivided NCP's clock symbol has been a contentious issue in the build-up to the November 20 election, with the Ajit Pawar faction eager to shake off poor results in the April federal election.
READ | Pawar vs Pawar Battle In Supreme Court Over Clock Symbol
It won just one of four seats contested. Sharad Pawar's NCP won eight seats.
That result underlined, for many, Pawar senior's hold on the NCP voter base, a hold his nephew must somehow crack if he is to truly step out of his uncle's long shadow in Maharashtra politics.
Ajit Pawar broke from his uncle's side in July 2023, leading over two dozen MLAs into the arms of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who, 12 months earlier, engineered a similar break of Uddhav Thackeray's formerly undivided party.
Since then, the two Pawars have exchanged several sharp barbs as they jostle for the NCP's voter base, including Ajit Pawar fielding his wife, Sunetra Pawar, from the family stronghold of Baramati in the Lok Sabha election. Ms Pawar lost to Sharad Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule.
The Pawar vs Pawar electoral rivalry in Baramati will renew next week after Ajit Pawar, the five-time and incumbent MLA, faces Sharad Pawar's grandnephew, Yugendra Pawar.
READ | "Will Have To Stop Somewhere": Sharad Pawar's Retirement Hint
Last week, in comments on the Baramati contest, Sharad Pawar seemed to play down the family vs family angle, declaring, "I have no grudge against him (Ajit Pawar) ... he led you for nearly 30 years... " but also pitching the message of a generational change in leadership.
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