Eknath Shinde faction recognised as real Shiv Sena by EC, gets 'bow and arrow' poll symbol

The Election Commission of India on Friday ordered that the party name “Shiv Sena” and the party symbol “Bow and Arrow” will be retained by the Eknath Shinde faction. 

Election Commission of India 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," said the poll body. Two factions emerged in the party when Eknath Shinde staged a coup in June 2022. The party was divided between the supporters of Uddhav Thackeray and Ekanth Shinde. 

In a 78-page order on the protracted battle for control of the organisation, the Commission allowed the Uddhav Thackeray faction to keep the ''flaming torch'' poll symbol allocated to it till the completion of the assembly bypolls in the state. "We don't need to worry. Public is with us. We'll go with a new symbol and raise this Shiv Sena once again in the court of public," said Sanjay Raut from Uddhav Thackeray faction on Election Commission order.

EC observed that the constitution of Shiv Sena, amended in 2018, has not been given to Election Commission of India. Amendments had undone the act of introducing democratic norms in the Party Constitution of 1999, brought by Late Balasaheb Thackeray at the insistence of the Commission, the poll body observed.

EC also observed that the undemocratic norms of the original Constitution of Shiv Sena, which was not accepted by the Commission in 1999, "have been brought back in a surreptitious manner further making the party akin to a fiefdom".

"This is victory of Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology," said CM Eknath Shinde on Election Commission's decision to recognise his faction as real Shiv Sena.

The Commission said MLAs backing Eknath Shinde got nearly 76 per cent of votes polled in favour of the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction's MLAs got 23.5 per cent of votes polled in favour of the winning Shiv Sena candidates, the three-member Commission said in a unanimous order.

ALSO READ: Instagram Broadcast Channels- All you need to know