The Election Commission has allotted the symbol of “man blowing turha” (a traditional trumpet) to the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The EC communique came on February 22 following a direction by the Supreme Court in the matter. The poll body has already allotted the name ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ to the grouping.
The Supreme Court had said on Monday that the interim order by the EC that allowed veteran leader Sharad Pawar to use ‘Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar’ would continue till further orders. A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and K.V. Vishwanathan also allowed the senior Pawar to approach the EC for symbol allocation and had said that it would be allotted within one week of filing the application.
Can use in LS polls
The Sharad Pawar faction can now contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on this symbol. The turha or trumpet, which is also known as tutari, is sounded to mark the entry of important persons ranging from kings in the past to political leaders now.
“The Tutari in the form of great valour of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had once deafened the emperor of Delhi. It is a great honour for our party to get Tutari (Man Blowing Turha) as our symbol for upcoming elections. Our Tutari is now ready to shake Delhi’s throne under the leadership of Sharadchandra Pawar,” the party said in a post on X.
The EC has given the party name and “clock” symbol to the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The NCP had split in July 2023 after Mr. Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra.
