New Delhi: The battle over the "clock" - the election symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party - has heated up again ahead of the assembly election in Maharashtra, with the Sharad Pawar faction of the party approaching the Supreme Court. The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) has filed a petition to stop the Ajit Pawar faction from using the "clock" symbol. The court will hear the petition on October 15.
In the petition, the Sharad Pawar faction has said the use of the clock by the Ajit Pawar faction during the Lok Sabha election earlier this year had caused considerable confusion among voters. They have appealed that a new symbol be granted to the other side.
The NCP name and poll symbol was awarded to the Ajit Pawar faction of the party by the Election Commission after Pawar Junior rebelled against his uncle and joined hands with the ruling alliance in Maharashtra in July last year.
But ahead of the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the top court had not barred the Ajit Pawar faction from using the clock symbol, ordering only that they make it clear to the people that the court was yet to make up its mind about where the symbol belongs.
In that election, the voters, though. made it clear who they thought was the real NCP. The Sharad Pawar faction won eight seats compared to the single seat won by the Ajit Pawar faction. The other party for which the Election Commission used a similar formula -- the Shiv Sena which had also split - also received a similar message from the voters.
The outcome was dismal for the ruling alliance, with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi -the alliance of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP - winning 30 of the state's 48 seats. The ruling alliance won 17. One seat went to an Independent candidate.
The Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP has been facing setbacks since with a section of their leaders quitting and returning to Sharad Pawar.
The Sharad Pawar faction has also filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, challenging the Election Commission's decision to recognise the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP, which is currently being heard.