Pawar's NCP retains 'clock' symbol

The Election Commission on Monday allowed the Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar faction to retain clock as its election symbol.

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The EC order said that since majority of the elected members and delegates of the NCP have sided with Pawar, the petition filed by the P A Sangma faction seeking clock as its election symbol stands dismissed.

The order said while 10 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs have sided with the Pawar faction, only two are in the Sangma faction.

T P Pitambaran Master and R K Kohli, leaders of the NCP, claimed the EC verdict upholds the Pawar faction's claim that it's the real NCP.

The full Election Commission met on Monday to decide the matter.

In a 26 page judgement, the commission said: "In the present case, the commission is satisfied beyond any doubt that the group led by Shri Pawar has far superior numerical support in the organisational and legislature wings of the party and it sees no reason at all for any interim order, allowing the matter to linger on.

"Having regard to the above, and to the totality of facts and circumstances, the commission hereby decides, in terms of paragraph 15 of the Symbol Order, that the group led by Shri Sharad Pawar is the Nationalist Congress Party, and is entitled to the use of reserved symbol 'clock' as a recognised national party."