The Election Commission on Saturday decided that the two factions of the Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, would not be allowed to use the party name and symbol for the ongoing Andheri East by-poll and till the EC passes a final order on the dispute between them.
In an interim order, the EC said both the groups would be known by different names of their choosing and would be allotted alternate symbols from the list of free symbols notified by the EC for the current by-polls. The two sides were asked to submit the alternate names and symbols to the EC by 1 pm on October 10.
Starting in June, the two sides have claimed they represent the ‘real’ Shiv Sena and have staked claim to the exclusive use of the name and the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol. In its order, the EC said there was an urgency to the matter as by-polls had been announced this week, including in the Andheri East Assembly constituency of Maharashtra. The nominations for the by-polls on November 3 started on Friday and will go on till October 14.
The EC order said Mr. Shinde had claimed support of 12 out of 18 MPs, 40 out of 55 MLAs and various MLCs. Mr. Thackeray’s lawyer on Friday sought four weeks time for the start of formal hearings in the matter in order to carefully go through the documents filed by the Shinde group.
The EC agreed that a clear timeframe was required after the submission of documents and listing of the date of hearing. However, extending the timeframe would have consequences on the smooth conduct of the announced by-polls as both sides had claimed the use of the symbol and name of Shiv Sena, it said.
“It is evident that the time available is not adequate to ensure the due process which is required to be completed for the proceedings,” the EC said, adding that it was passing the interim order to keep both sides on an even keel for the by-polls and until a final order was issued.
