Eknath Shinde faction recognised as real Shiv Sena, allocated ‘bow and arrow’ poll symbol
The Hindu
The Commission said MLAs backing Mr. Shinde got nearly 76% of votes polled in favour of the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
The Election Commission of India on February 17 ruled that party name ‘Shiv Sena’ and symbol ‘Bow and Arrow’ would remain with the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The Uddhav Thackarey and the Shinde factions have been locked in a fight over the party name and symbol since June 2022 when Mr. Shinde walked out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government with 40 MLAs in a high-voltage revolt.
He became Chief Minister with the support of the BJP.
The Shinde faction had claimed the support of 40 of the Sena’s 56 MLAs and 13 of its 18 members in the Lok Sabha.
The Commission further said that the current constitution of the Shiv Sena was “ 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.
The Commission observed that the party had been made into a fiefdom by undemocratic norms of the original Constitution of Shiv Sena.