New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday said that the name “Shiv Sena” and the poll symbol “Bow and Arrow” will be retained by the Eknath Shinde faction, a move that caps a months-long tussle between the groups led by Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray over control of the party.
The factions led by Thackeray and Shinde concluded their arguments before the Election Commission in January, with both sides claiming the “Shiv Sena” name.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “This is the victory of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe. Whatever decision we have taken, this is a victory of that. This is a victory of democracy. Our govt is formed on basis of Babasaheb’s constitution. This is a decision based on merits.”
The Election Commission also observed that the current constitution of the Shiv Sena is undemocratic. “It has been mutilated to undemocratically appoint people from a coterie as office bearers without any election at all. Such party structures fail to inspire confidence,” it said.
Reacting to the EC order, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut said, “This is revenge that they are taking on Mumbai. I don’t trust EC. No one can buy common people. EC order is not the real justice. We know that people are with us and we will form ShivSena once again.”
Meanwhile, state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Eknath Shinde who is walking on the path of Balasaheb Thackeray and he has gotten the name and symbol is very good news. I congratulate him. We have been saying from day one that the real Shiv Sena is of Eknath Shinde.”
Shinde rebelled from the Shiv Sena in June last year to become the chief minister of Maharashtra with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he engineered the collapse of the coalition government led by Thackeray. The two sides have been battling for control of the organisation since then.
In November last year, the Election Commission asked the two Shiv Sena factions to submit documents over the claim to the party’s name and poll symbol.
It allotted “Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray” as the party name for the Thackeray faction and “Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena” as the name for the Shinde group.
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