To recap, in November 2019, Ajit Pawar made his first attempt to “split” the NCP by departing with a handful of MLAs to form a government with the BJP. Ajit was sworn in as deputy chief minister for 80 hours, after which the majority of MLAs returned to the NCP, and the alliance collapsed. He finally split the party in July 2023.

The Sharad Pawar faction challenged the Election Commission’s decision in the Supreme Court. The group requested that the Ajit Pawar faction, in the interim, be barred from using the NCP’s name and symbol. It also sought an alternative name and symbol for the Ajit Pawar-led outfit.

The Supreme Court has ordered Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP to stop using images of Sharad Pawar in the Maharashtra elections, emphasizing the need for separate identities amid ongoing disputes between the factions.

Supreme Court instructed Ajit Pawar's faction of NCP not to use photos and videos of Sharad Pawar as Maharashtra goes to polls next week.

The bench led by Justice Surya Kant instructed both factions of the NCP to respect voter wisdom and focus on the electoral battlefield.

The Supreme Court has directed Ajit Pawar's NCP not to depend on Sharad Pawar's pictures for poll campaign in Maharashtra.