ECI decision: Victory of truth, says Shinde; murder of democracy, says Uddhav

MUMBAI: Hours after the Election Commission of India’s decision to allot the party name Shiv Sena and the symbol of the bow and arrow to the Eknath Shinde faction, Uddhav Thackeray announced that he will be appealing the decision in the Supreme Court

MUMBAI: Hours after the Election Commission of India’s decision to allot the party name Shiv Sena and the symbol of the bow and arrow to the Eknath Shinde faction, Uddhav Thackeray announced that he will be appealing the decision in the Supreme Court.

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He termed the decision as “murder of democracy” and accused the ECI of working as a slave to the ruling party. “It made us submit piles of documents, but gave the verdict regardless of that, the way it anyway wanted to.” He said he would not be surprised if local body elections were to be called in the next month or two.

In contrast to the subdued mood at Matoshree, the Thackeray family residence at Bandra East, the mood at Varsha, the CM’s official bungalow, was sanguine. There were loud pro-Shinde chants and much cracker-bursting. Similarly, in Thane, his pocket borough, Shrikant Shinde, his son and Member of Parliament, raised aloft a huge bow and arrow amid a sea of jubilant supporters.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who late night visited Bal Thackeray’s samadhi called the EC’s decision a victory of Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe’s ideology. “This is a case where the truth has won. This is a victory for democracy. Our country runs as per constitution. Our government is constitutional. This decision is done on merit and I thank the Election Commission.”

Uddhav Thackeray on the other hand reserved his last salvo for Shinde and other rebels calling them “a bunch of thieves.” He expressed fears that the government was dismantling the guardrails of democracy and added that he now worried whether they would be allowed to retain the flaming torch symbol allots to him some time back.

Thackeray’s partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the NCP and the Congress cam out n his support. NCP leader and MP Supriya Sule said that she was shocked and unable to understand the grounds on which the decision was taken by the EC. “I have been looking up to the election commission as an autonomous transparent body. But in this case, I am unable to understand on what basis they have come to this conclusion,” she said.

“The Shiv Sena was formed by Balasaheb Thackeray and during his lifetime it was decided that Uddhav Thackeray will be his successor and the decision was taken unanimously. Even Raj Thackeray respected that decision and formed his own party when he decided to leave Shiv Sena,” she pointed out.

The Maharashtra Congress said Friday’s decision had cast suspicions over the EC’s stature as an independent body. “It has made the matter more complicated because the national and state executive committees are still with Uddhav Thackeray. In that case, on what grounds any new executive body formed by Shinde can be approved?” asked Atul Londhe, chief spokesperson, Congress.

Deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said, “We were confident from day one that the symbol and name of the party will go to the faction which has been taking the ideology of the Balasaheb Thackeray forward. We have been saying this from day 1 that the faction headed by chief minister Eknath Shinde is the original party and no one should treat the party their own property. The EC’s decision has only reinforced what we said.”

He added the EC’s decision had been on the lines of its past decisions when such disputes arose in other parties. “Such rulings are based on the vote percentage, the number of elected representatives any faction has among other parameters.”

The original Sena rebel and Thackeray’s cousin Raj put out a cryptic tweet featuring a Bal Thackeray video in which the Shiv Sena founder can be heard saying,” Money comes and goes but when a person loses his reputation, it can’t be got back, it can’t be bought even in the black market. Therefore one must take care of one’s reputation and enhance it.”