Eknath Shinde faction to meet Election Commission today over Shiv Sena poll symbol

The Supreme Court had on September 27 declined to stop the Election Commission from deciding the claim of the Eknath Shinde group to be the 'real Shiv Sena'.

TN National Desk

Updated Oct 7, 2022, 04:38 IST

Pic courtesy: @mieknathshinde

Photo : Twitter

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde defended his rebellion against the Shiv Sena leadership on Wednesday, calling it an uprising to save the party
According to him, he is the true inheritor of Balasaheb Thackeray's political legacy.
Shinde's speech at the Bandra Kurla Complex grounds was largely dedicated to justifying his revolt

New Delhi: The Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will meet the Election Commission of India on Friday to stake a claim to the party's 'bow and arrow' symbol ahead of the Andheri East Assembly bypoll in Maharashtra.

The Shinde faction's move is seen as an attempt to deny the 'bow and arrow' election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray group, which has decided to field Rutuja Latke, widow of MLA Ramesh Latke, in the November 3 bypoll.

"We are meeting the Election Commission on Friday in connection with the party election symbol," Rahul Shewale, the leader of the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha, told news agency PTI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is an ally of Shinde faction, has decided to field Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation corporator Murji Patel for the bypoll necessitated due to Ramesh Latke's demise.

Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to extend support to Rutuja Latke. Notably, both parties are coalition partners of the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Shinde had revolted against Thackeray in June for entering into an "unnatural alliance" with Congress and NCP. As a result, over 40 of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs supported Shinde, forcing Thackeray to step down as Maharashtra CM.

Also, 12 of the 18 Lok Sabha members of Shiv Sena came out in support of Shinde, who later claimed to be the leader of the original Shiv Sena.

The bye-election in Andheri East is the first after Shinde and the BJP overthrew the MVA government in June. Moreover, political analysts view it as a precursor to the settling of claims by Shinde and Thackeray to be the "real Shiv Sena".

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