New Delhi: The Nationalist Congress Party’s clock symbol will remain with Ajit Pawar, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, dealing a blow to Sharad Pawar ahead of the Maharashtra assembly election, media reports said.

On July 2, 2023, Ajit Pawar, along with several other party leaders, split from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by his uncle Sharad Pawar and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena alliance government in Maharashtra.

Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, along with eight other NCP leaders who also took oath as ministers.

The court stressed that Ajit Pawar's faction must "meticulously" follow its previous order by including disclaimers in election advertisements, clarifying that a final decision on the matter is still pending, according to an NDTV report.

"If we feel that a deliberate attempt is being made to violate our order, we can initiate suo motu contempt proceedings," the bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The apex court’s earlier interim order came when Sharad Pawar’s faction challenged the Election Commission’s decision to grant the party name and symbol to Ajit Pawar's group.

The Pawar faction had requested new symbols for both factions ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

This time, the NCP (Sharad Pawar) approached the court, accusing Ajit Pawar's faction of disregarding the court's order by not adding disclaimers in election posters, causing "large scale confusion" among voters during the Lok Sabha election.

Today, the court issued a notice to Ajit Pawar’s faction, warning them to avoid creating "an embarrassing situation" for themselves. "Please file a fresh undertaking that you will not violate our directions present as well as till the end of elections. We expect both sides to comply with our directions. Please don't create an embarrassing situation for yourself," Justice Kant said, according to the NDTV report.

Sharad Pawar had founded the NCP in 1999 with former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Sangma and Tariq Anwar after being expelled from the Congress.

Following Ajit Pawar's split from the party, on February 15, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar upheld Ajit Pawar's group as the legitimate NCP, stating that the anti-defection law could not apply as the matter involved internal dissent and Ajit had the numbers.

Soon after, the Election Commission assigned the NCP’s clock symbol to Ajit Pawar's faction, allowing Sharad Pawar’s group to adopt the name "Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar" with the symbol of a "Man blowing Turha."

The NCP, originally founded by Sharad Pawar, had used the clock symbol before the split. Sharad Pawar objected, arguing that it could confuse voters.

When the case reached the Supreme Court, the judges upheld the Election Commission’s decision until further orders but prohibited Ajit Pawar’s faction from using Sharad Pawar’s name or photos for political advantage.