New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party wants to finish off the Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray said Monday, whose father Balasaheb founded the party in 1966.
His statement comes three days after the Election Commission granted the “Shiv Sena” name and the “bow and arrow” party symbol to Sena rebel and present Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
“The BJP has snatched our party name and symbol – it is a part of their conspiracy,” Uddhav said Monday.
The prestige fight for the party name and symbol started last year after Shinde split the Sena in two, and formed the now-ruling government with the BJP.
Shinde accused his boss and then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray of having “compromised” the Sena’s ideology when he formed a grand alliance with the secular Congress and the Congress Nationalist Party in 2019.
On Monday, after a meeting with his MLAs, Thackeray said: “Everything has been stolen from me. The name and symbol of our party have been stolen but the name ‘Thackeray’ cannot be stolen. We have moved the Supreme Court against the decision given by the Election Commission, the hearing will start from tomorrow.”
Thackeray said if the current scenario in Maharashtra was not stopped, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections couldt turn out to be the last elections in the country. “After that, there will be anarchy here,” Uddhav said.
Earlier in the day, his colleague Sanjay Raut said, “I stand by my statement that there was a deal of Rs 2000 crore by which the Shinde faction got the party name and symbol. At an appropriate time we will come out with proof in this regard.”
The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena moved the Supreme Court Monday, challenging the Election Commission’s decision to allot the party name and symbol to the dissident group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
In a setback to the Thackeray faction Friday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) allotted the name “Shiv Sena” and its “bow and arrow” symbol to the bloc led by CM Shinde – ending a months-long struggle between the two groups on being recognised as the “real Shiv Sena”.
This prestige battle began last year, soon after Eknath Shinde forced a split in the party, and formed the government with the BJP.
Shinde had alleged that then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had “compromised” the Sena’s ideology when he formed a grand alliance with the secular Congress and the Nationalist Party in 2019.
Thackeray further said: “The Election Commission should be dissolved… election commissioners should be elected by people,” adding that he had been called by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, JD(U) head Nitish Kumar and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Also read: Sena vs Sena: Plea in SC against EC’s decision on “Bow and Arrow” dispute