Uddhav Thackeray Sena has challenged the ECI decision to allot party symbol and name to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the Supreme Court. The former chief minister went so far as to call for the dissolution of the ECI on grounds of acting in a biased and unfair manner, failing to discharge its duties as a neutral arbiter of disputes under Para 15 of the Symbols Order, thereby undermining its constitutional status.
According to the ECI notice, the decision to allot the symbol and party name to Shinde Sena was based on the majority in the Assembly. The Commission said that the decision was based on a “test on majority” as the group of MLAs supporting the Eknath Shinde Sena formed nearly 76 per cent of the votes polled for the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections. The Uddhav Thackeray faction got only 23.5 per cent of the votes. Moreover, the ECI decision also called into question the party’s constitution, used by the Uddhav Thackeray faction to claim the symbol and name, calling it “undemocratic”. Shinde Sena challenged the authenticity of the constitution amended by Uddhav Thackery in 2018. Shinde faction demonstrated the support of 40 out of 55 MLAs in the Maharashtra Assembly and 13 out of 22 MPs in both Houses of Parliament.
