Leaders from both NCP factions say there is no split or dispute in party

Senior leaders from both Sharad Pawar- and Ajit Pawar-led factions of the Nationalist Congress Party have said that there was no split in the party.

The Election Commission has called the rival factions of the NCP for a personal hearing on October 6 following a petition filed by the Ajit group claiming that he has been elected as the party's national president.

It is unfair on the part of the Election Commission of India to treat our case as a dispute within a political party when we have consistently maintained that there is no split, said Jayant Patil, the Maharashtra unit chief of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, on Tuesday.

Sharad Pawar in his letter to the ECI stressed the fact that he never faced any opposition within the party. There is no dispute. There has been no opposition to my (Sharad Pawar's) policies from the party on any public platform, Patil told reporters.

Pawar also sought time from the ECI to explain his side because there was no dispute but there has been some exchange of emails (with Ajit Pawar's side). The ECI, without giving time to (Sharad) Pawar, concluded that there is a dispute, he added.

Asked about Patil's comments, Chhagan Bhujbal, Maharashtra cabinet minister and senior leader from the Ajit Pawar group, said, It is good as there is no dispute in the party. Some changes have taken place, such as change of national president....Ajit Pawar is now the party's president and we have already communicated this to the ECI.

Ajit Pawar rebelled against his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar's leadership in July this year and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra as deputy chief minister.