Only Shiv Sena led by CM Eknath Shinde recognised: Maharashtra Assembly speaker

• Rahul Narvekar said only one party with 55 Shiv Sena MLAs led by CM Shinde and its chief whip Bharat Gogawale are recognised.
• In the 2019 assembly elections, 56 MLAs were elected on the Shiv Sena symbol.
• The EC has allowed the Sena (UBT) to keep the flaming torch symbol till the conclusion of the Kasba Peth.and Chinchwad Assembly bypolls.

Days ahead of the budget session of the Maharashtra state legislature, Speaker Rahul Narvekar said on Thursday that there was no representation of any group claiming to be a separate party in the House.

His remarks come in the backdrop of the Election Commission (EC) recognizing the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led group as the real Shiv Sena and allowing it to use the 'bow and arrow' symbol in elections, dealing a major blow to Uddhav Thackeray. faction.

Narvekar told to a report that only one party with 55 Shiv Sena MLAs led by CM Shinde and its chief whip Bharat Gogawal is being recognised. The budget session of the state legislature will be held from February 27 to March 25, with the budget presentation scheduled for March 9. "So far I have no representation that there is a split in the party (Shiv Sena). If I get the letter, a decision will be taken under the rules of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (which deals with defection)," Narvekar, who belongs to the BJP, said.

In the 2019 parliamentary elections, 56 MLAs were elected on the Shiv Sena symbol. The death of one of them, Ramesh Latke, prompted a by-poll last year in which his widow Rutuja Latke won as the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate, who received the 'burning torch' symbol of the vote. The European Commission has allowed the Sena (UBT) to keep the burning torch symbol till the closure of Kasba Peth and Chinchwad Assembly polls in Pune district scheduled for February 26. In another blow to the Thackeray camp, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the EC's order last week recognizing the Shinde-led bloc as the genuine Shiv Sena and awarding it the 'bow and arrow' vote symbol.

A Samata Party delegation from Bihar met Shinde on Wednesday and sought his help in getting its election symbol 'mashaal' (burning torch) which was allotted to the Thackeray faction.