Pawar, who is NCP president, has been slapped a notice for an advertisement in a Marathi daily which said "Dear farmer, this kharif season the rains did not help you. But we will - Message to farmer friends from Union Agriculture Ministry".

"In the Commission's considered view it is a violation of the Commission's instruction of the conditional clearance for issuing of the advertisement", the EC said. Publishing the advertisement in Marathi language in a newspaper published from Mumbai at the time of the general election in Maharashtra is "prima facie motivated to influence the voters of the state", the EC said.

Noting that it had received a complaint in this regard, the Commission said it had cleared publication of the advertisement in newspapers on September 18 subject to the condition that it "should neither contain photograph nor slogan etc". NCP is fighting the assembly elections in alliance with Congress, its coalition partner for the last 10 years.