NCP to contest assembly polls to get lost national party status restored

Mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led NCP, which lost national party status on Monday, will contest upcoming assembly elections to improve its tally of votes in other states. The party plans to field its candidates in neighbouring Karnataka and possibly the Rajasthan assembly elections this year, NCP insiders said.

On Monday, the Election Commission (EC) withdrew the NCP’s national party status on the grounds that it no longer fulfilled the eligibility criteria to continue enjoying the status. The EC also revoked its state party status in three states—Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya—which paved the ground for it to remove the NCP’s national party status.

The removal of this status is being seen as a setback for Pawar, who is active in national politics and one of the seniormost leaders in the country. A former Union minister in three different governments, he has always been keen on playing a key role in national politics, and heading a national party gave him the background for this. Currently, the NCP has 53 MLAs in Maharashtra, seven MLAs in Nagaland and two MLAs in Kerala. It has four MPs from Maharashtra and one from Lakshadweep.

Commenting on the EC decision, state NCP chief Jayant Patil said that the party did not see it as a setback. “We have not lost our election symbol, the alarm clock,” he told reporters in Pune. “Besides, we will be able to get back status in the next four to six months by contesting upcoming polls in other states.” As per Para 10A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, a political party can use its reserved election symbol for a period of six years after losing national party status.

However, the NCP can no longer enjoy other benefits, among them the expenses related to star campaigners. “A national party can bring in 40 star campaigners for an election, and their travel and other expenses will not be included in the candidates’ expenditure, which is the biggest advantage for a party with national status,” said S Y Quraishi, former election commissioner. “As far as the NCP is concerned, this has been reduced. The number of star campaigners has been reduced to half in Maharashtra and Nagaland, where it is recognised as a state party.” The time slot of 15 minutes for TV and radio for the poll campaign has also been reduced by half.

Pawar, in an interview to ABP Majha, reiterated that the NCP would have to contest polls in other states. “In the coming years, we have to secure six percent votes in the other two states,” he said. “Only then will we be able to get our status restored. Today, we are recognised as a state party in Maharashtra and Nagaland.”

Pawar said they were not appealing against the EC decision. “We know the rules, according to which we need to have a certain number of seats and vote percentage in four states,” he said. “The EC accepted that we fulfil the criteria in three states but are not ready to accept the same for Lakshadweep.”