The Maharashtra Speaker, Rahul Narwekar, made a definitive ruling on the true Shiv Sena faction amid the turmoil of June 2022. He declared Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s group as the legitimate Shiv Sena, supported by their substantial majority of 37 out of 55 MLAs during the emergence of rival factions. Narwekar’s decision, arriving more than 18 months post-split, marked a significant turning point in the state’s political landscape.
The split originated when Eknath Shinde and a cohort of MLAs rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, resulting in the downfall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. This led to an alliance between the Shinde faction and the BJP, forming the current administration, with Shinde assuming the role of Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
Following the split, both factions of the Shiv Sena filed petitions seeking the disqualification of each other’s MLAs under the anti-defection law. The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, which directed Narwekar to oversee the adjudication process.
The Election Commission’s subsequent decision recognized Eknath Shinde’s faction as the authentic ‘Shiv Sena,’ granting them the party name and original symbol, while the Thackeray-led group was renamed ‘Shiv Sena (UBT)’ with a distinct symbol. Notably, Sharad Pawar’s nephew, Ajit Pawar, joined the Shinde-led Sena-BJP coalition, serving as a deputy Chief Minister in the current government. Maharashtra anticipates assembly polls in the latter part of 2024.
