Mumbai, Aug. 4 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) has found discrepancies in amendments made by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) national president Sunetra Pawar to the party's constitution and has sought supporting documents to substantiate them, according to officials aware of the developments. In a letter sent to Pawar on July 27, the ECI effectively sought documentary evidence to establish that amendments to certain provisions in the NCP's constitution were duly approved by the party's national convention, officials said. The development comes weeks after former NCP national secretary Sachchidanand Singh sent Pawar a legal notice on July 9, questioning the validity of her appointment as the party's national president and demanding a fresh election. While the NCP had dismissed the notice, saying it had no legal standing, there has been growing discontent within the party over the functioning of the new leadership following the death of Sunetra's husband and former party chief Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in January. Several senior leaders have reportedly been unhappy with the way the organisation is being run. After taking charge as NCP national president, Sunetra Pawar introduced a series of organisational and constitutional changes. Among the most contentious was the removal of senior leaders Praful Patel from the post of national working president and Sunil Tatkare from the position of Maharashtra state president. The July 27 letter, issued by ECI under-secretary Manish Kumar, stated, "I am directed to refer to your letters dated March 10 and April 7 on the subject cited above and to state that it has been observed that amendments to Articles 6, 7, 12, 18(I), 32 and 36 have been carried out by the party. However, the supporting document furnished by the party, namely the resolution passed at the national convention held on February 28, mentions amendment only to Article 18(I). "In view of the above, it is requested that a copy of the relevant resolution and/or other supporting documents in respect of the amendments made to Articles 6, 7, 12, 32 and 36 also be furnished for consideration of the amended constitution by the Commission," the letter added. One of the provisions the ECI flagged is Article 32, which deals with the powers of the national working president. Under the earlier provision, the national working president would automatically exercise the powers of the national president in the event of the latter's resignation, removal, death or inability to continue in office. In one of her communications sent to the ECI on March 10, Sunetra stated, "It is requested that any correspondence made by any person on behalf of the party in this regard between January 28 and the date prior to the issuance of this letter may kindly be treated as null and ignored for all official purposes." A senior NCP leader said that Sunetra, even as the party's national president, cannot unilaterally amend the party constitution or make organisational changes. "Any amendment to the party constitution or major organisational decision has to be approved by the national convention. That has not happened in this case, which is why the ECI has sought supporting documents. It will be difficult for the party to furnish proof because the required approvals were never obtained," the leader added. However, NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil downplayed the ECI's communication, saying it was part of a routine process of informing the commission about decisions taken by the party along with the necessary supporting documents. "As Sunetra Pawar was elected as the national president, the Election Commission of India had to be informed about the election. Similarly, the party has taken several decisions, all of which were communicated to the ECI. However, it appears that we may not have submitted some of the supporting documents along with those communications. The ECI has now asked us to provide those documents, and we will submit them. It is as simple as that."...