Why Sharad Pawar’s NCP wants solo rights to ‘tutari’ symbol ahead of Maharashtra polls

Sharad Pawar’s party was allotted the symbol of a “man blowing tutari” after the EC recognised the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NC

The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) has claimed that the similarity between the name of the party’s election symbol “tutari” with that of some independent candidates impacted its performance in some Lok Sabha seats in the recent general elections.

The NCP (SP) has filed a fresh petition urging the Election Commission to immediately debar the free symbol “trumpet” for the upcoming state Assembly elections.

What is the confusion?

A tutari, also known as turha, is a trumpet that is used to mark the entry of important individuals or at the beginning of significant events. It was part of the Election Commission’s (EC) list of free symbols to be allotted to Independents or unregistered political parties. Pawar’s party was allotted the symbol of a “man blowing tutari” after the EC recognised the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NC

“The confusion among voters was evident from the number of votes those Independent candidates with the tutari symbol, similar to our symbol, got,” party general secretary Jaidev Gaikwad told Indian Express.

Gaikwad said the NCP (SP) had told the EC before the polls to not allot the tutari symbol to others. “We lost one seat due to the confusion over the symbol, but it had a ripple effect in other constituencies as well. Fortunately, our candidates got a huge number of votes, and the outcome was not affected,” he said.

The party is also apprehensive that the symbol may hurt its prospects even more in the coming Assembly elections. “If the EC does not yield to our demand, we will approach the Supreme Court,” Gaikwad told Indian Express.

Which Lok Sabha seats were likely affected?

Satara: Sanjay Gade, an Independent candidate, was allotted the “tutari” symbol. The first-time candidate bagged 37,062 votes in this constituency. The NCP (SP) candidate, Shashikant Shinde, lost by 31,771 votes to BJP’s Udayanraje Bhonsle. NCP’s Jayant Patil alleged that symbols with similar names were allotted to independent candidates in a deliberate attempt to divide the votes. He also alleged that symbols with similar names were allotted to independent candidates in a deliberate attempt to divide the votes.

Dindori: The Independent candidate, Babu Bhagre, with the “tutari” symbol polled as many as 1.03 lakh votes. Bhagre was a namesake of the NCP (SP) candidate Bhaskar Bhagare who won by around 1.13 lakh votes.

Beed: NCP (SP)’s Bajrang Sonawane won against high-profile BJP candidate Pankaja Munde. Sonawane’s narrow 6,553-vote win followed 54,850 votes to Bahujan Maha Party candidate Ashok Thorat, a first-time candidate. Thorat contested on the trumpet symbol.

Baramati: NCP (SP) patriarch Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule was in the race. However, Independent candidate Mahesh Sitaram Bhagat with the trumpet symbol bagged over 14,000 votes. Sule eventually defeated Sunetra Pawar, the wife of NCP leader Ajit Pawar, by over 1.5 lakh votes.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi allies NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress together contested all 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and won 31.

The term of the current state Assembly is scheduled to end in 2024. The next legislative election is expected to be held in or before October 2024. However, the Election Commission of India has yet to confirm or announce the dates for the electoral polls.