New Delhi (Agency): Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), proclaimed on Monday that while the Election Commission (EC) may assign an electoral symbol to a political party, it does not possess the power to alter the name of a party. He expressed these remarks while interacting with the press in Amaravati district during a tour of Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region.
The former state chief minister resolutely declared that the name ‘Shiv Sena’ was bequeathed by his grandfather (Keshav Thackeray), and he has no intentions of allowing anyone to “steal” it.
Earlier in February, the Election Commission had designated the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and its election symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the group spearheaded by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The Commission had sanctioned the Uddhav Thackeray faction to keep the name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the ‘flaming torch’ poll symbol, which was provisionally granted to them in the previous year.
Post the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, Uddhav Thackeray severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party to establish the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with the aid of the NCP and Congress. In a turn of events last June, Shinde parted ways with Thackeray and created a coalition government with the BJP.
“The Election Commission lacks the authority to modify a party’s name. It can allocate an electoral symbol to a party,” Thackeray declared. He emphatically stated, “The name Shiv Sena was bestowed by my grandfather, how can the EC revise the name? I refuse to permit anyone to pilfer the name of the party.”
Thackeray, when queried about certain opposition parties uniting against the BJP-led central government in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for next year, said, “I will not call it as the unity of the opposition parties, but we all are patriots and we are doing it for the sake of democracy.” He further emphasized it as a unification of people who cherish their country.
Uddhav Thackeray also made an intriguing point that despite the enforcement of the Emergency (1975-77) in India, the then-government allowed opposition parties to campaign for general elections. He expressed his skepticism about the level of freedom available in the country during the present time.
Adding another layer to the unfolding drama, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear Thackeray’s petition against the EC’s order allotting the party name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led group on July 31. Thackeray’s application argued that the matter necessitates an urgent hearing due to the illegality of the order, particularly considering the recent Constitution bench verdict of the apex court pronounced on May 11. The application further noted, “Elections are imminent, and respondent No. 1 (Shinde) is unlawfully using the party name and symbol.”