Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. (File Photo)In order to prevent the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena from using the party’s electoral symbol of bow and arrow in the upcoming Andheri East Assembly by-poll, to be held on November 3, the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking an immediate decision on the party symbol.
The ECI had earlier asked both the factions to submit their say and written statements by October 7 so that the hearing in the matter can be started. In a letter on October 4, the Shinde faction requested the ECI to urgently hear its petition and allot the symbol to it before the Andheri East by-election to avoid its misuse.
The letter claimed that the Thackeray-led Sena will illegally and unlawfully make an attempt to field a candidate and claim the allotted symbol of Shiv Sena without having the necessary support within the party. The constituency fell vacant after the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May this year. While the Thackeray-led Sena has fielded Latke’s wife Rutuja in the election, the BJP is fielding former Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) corporator Murji Patel.
“The symbol in the present dispute is necessary for the aforementioned upcoming by-election… and the petitioner apprehends that despite not having the requisite support… the faction led by the respondent will illegally and unlawfully make an attempt to field a candidate and claim the allotted symbol…,” stated the letter submitted by Shinde faction lawyers to ECI.
The ECI hearing is crucial since it will decide which faction will get the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol and thus be recognised as the real Sena. The Shinde faction’s move requesting the ECI is being seen as an attempt to stop the Thackeray-led Sena from using the symbol during the election. If the use of the symbol is frozen before the Andheri(E) by-polls and BMC polls, which are expected to be held by the year-end, then it will be a major setback for the Thackeray-led Sena as it will have to contest elections with a different symbol.
The Shinde camp also demanded that the bow and arrow symbol should be given to it as it has the support of majority of Sena members. It claimed that the Thackeray-led Sena doesn’t have support of the majority and hence it has not submitted any documents yet.
“It is submitted that we have support from majority members of Shiv Sena, which is evident from the fact that the we have have filed more than 1,50,000 affidavits of members of Shiv Sena showing their support in favour of Shinde for the post of Chief Leader/President of Shiv Sena. Further, the Uddhav faction does not have any prima facie case in its favour, which is clear from the fact that till date, its faction did not file even a single document showing support from any member of Shiv Sena in his favour,” the Shinde faction said in its letter.