Uddhav Thackeray bloc of Shiv Sena moves SC against EC decision

The Uddhav Thackeray faction moved the Supreme Court on Monday challenging the Election Commission's decision to recognize the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the genuine Shiv Sena and order it to be allotted the 'bow and arrow' symbol. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi raised the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud for the timely disposal of a petition by the Thackeray-led Sena faction.

However, the CJI refused to issue any order. “The rule applies equally to all, whether left, right or centre. Come tomorrow through proper process,” the bench said.

The Election Commission on Friday recognized the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the genuine Shiv Sena and ordered it to be allotted the 'bow and arrow' symbol. In a 78-page order on the protracted battle for control of the organisation, the Commission allowed the Uddhav Thackeray faction to retain the allotted 'burning torch' symbol till the completion of by-elections in the state.

The commission said the MLAs supporting Shinde got nearly 76 percent of the votes in favor of the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls. Faction MLA Uddhav Thackeray polled 23.5 percent votes in favor of the winning Shiv Sena candidates, the three-member panel said.