New Delhi, February 22
In a major jolt to Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, the Supreme Court of India has refused to stay the Election Commission's order to recognize Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and allocate the party symbol 'bow and arrow' to it. The decision comes as a setback to Uddhav Thackeray, who has been facing a power struggle within his own party.
The apex court's decision means that the Shinde-led faction will continue to be recognized as the official Shiv Sena, while the Uddhav faction can continue to be known as Shiv Sena (UBT) with 'flaming torch' as its election symbol for bypolls in Chinchwad and Kasba Peth. The court has asked the Shinde faction to respond to the Uddhav Thackeray faction's petition and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav faction, had urged the court to restrain the Chief Minister Shinde faction from taking over assets and bank accounts of Shiv Sena, but the bench did not agree to it. The Shinde faction's counsel, on the other hand, assured the court that it would not issue any whip or initiate the process to disqualify the Uddhav faction's MLAs in the meantime.
The EC's decision to recognize the Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and allocate the 'bow and arrow' election symbol to it was taken last Friday. The poll panel had also allowed the Uddhav faction to keep the 'flaming torch' poll symbol allocated to it till the completion of the Assembly bypolls. In its detailed order, the EC had stated that the MLAs backing Shinde got nearly 76 percent of votes polled in favor of the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, while the Thackeray faction's MLAs got merely 23.5 percent of votes polled in favor of the winning Shiv Sena candidates.
The Uddhav faction had on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to stay the EC's order to recognize the Shinde faction as the official Shiv Sena, citing concerns about losing control of party funds. However, the court has refused to stay the order and has asked the Shinde faction to respond to the Uddhav Thackeray faction's petition.
The decision by the Supreme Court is a major setback for Uddhav Thackeray, who has been struggling to maintain control of his party amid internal power struggles. The Shiv Sena has been a dominant force in Maharashtra politics for decades, and any split within the party could have significant consequences for the state's political landscape.
The coming weeks will be crucial for both factions of the Shiv Sena as they gear up for the upcoming bypolls in Chinchwad and Kasba Peth. The outcome of these bypolls could have significant implications for the future of the party and the state's political landscape as a whole. The Supreme Court's decision to allow both factions to use different symbols for the bypolls suggests that the court is keen on ensuring a level playing field for both sides.
(Inputs from www.tribuneindia.com)