New Delhi: Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray told the Election Commission on Friday, October 7, that his rival Eknath Shinde and legislators in his faction cannot claim the name and party symbol of Shiv Sena since they had “voluntarily quit the party”, NDTV reported.
The tussle between Thackeray and Shinde factions over the ‘real’ claimants of Shiv Sena has grown sharper ahead of upcoming assembly by-poll in the Andheri East segment on November 3.
Thackeray’s submission to the poll body comes after the Shinde faction made a fresh bid for rights over the party.
Thackeray, who still technically remains the party chief, told the poll body that Shinde’s plea cannot be considered as a disqualification case is pending against legislators backing him in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the Thackeray faction has been gathering affidavits from party workers across the state to submit to the Election Commission to drive home the point that it enjoys more support among the workers than the Shinde camp. It set a target of over 5 lakh affidavits for party workers.
Asserting the legislative wing and organisational structure of a political party were two different facets, Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve of the Thackeray faction on Friday said his party will emphasise the “crucial aspect” in its reply to the Election Commission in connection with which faction gets the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol.
The EC has asked the Thackeray faction to respond by Saturday, October 8, on the rival Shinde group’s claim on the Shiv Sena’s election symbol with an Assembly bypoll in the metropolis slated for next month.
“Our main contention is that the legislative party and organisation are two different things. So the legislative group cannot stake claim over the organisation. We will place these points before the Election Commission,” Danve, the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, told PTI.
“The legislative party is for legislature purposes, while on the other hand, an elected representative could be just a normal party worker. The party has a constitution and it mandates the executive body to elect its president,” he added.
The EC’s directive came on Friday after the Shinde faction submitted a memorandum seeking that it be allocated the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol as the Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll scheduled for November 3 was nearing.
In a letter to Thackeray, the EC directed it to furnish comments along with requisite documents latest by 2 pm on October 8. It said in case no reply is received, the EC will take appropriate action in the matter accordingly.
The poll body has told Thackeray the Shinde faction had staked claim to the ‘bow and arrow’ on October 4.
The fresh claim to the election symbol by the Shinde faction is seen as an attempt to deny its use by the Thackeray group, which has decided to field Rutuja Latke, the widow of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, for the November 3 bypoll. Ramesh Latke’s death in May has necessitated the bypoll. The rival Shinde faction is backing the candidate of ally BJP, Murji Patel, a municipal corporator.
(With PTI inputs)