Pre-planned conspiracy to steal Shiv Sena's name and symbol, alleges Uddhav

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) faction has sought an urgent hearing in Supreme Court on its plea against the Election Commission decision allotting the party name "Shiv Sena" and the symbol "Bow and Arrow" to the faction led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday alleged a pre-planned conspiracy to steal Shiv Sena's name and symbol, days after the Election Commission handed over the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol and Shiv Sena name to Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde's faction. “The ECI order is wrong. This can happen with any party in India. There could be dictatorship and there may not be elections after 2024. I wonder if the order was given hastily to further complicate the issue”, the former chief minister said at a presser. His attacks come on a day when his faction mentioned before the top court its plea seeking an urgent hearing on the plea against the ECI decision.The appeal filed by Thackeray demanded the top court to hear the present appeal with the matters already pending before the Constitution bench. These matters are listed for Tuesday.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray addresses a press conference at Sena bhavan in Mumbai. (HT photo/Anshuman Poyrekar.)

The petition said that that the "entire edifice” of EC order is based upon the "legislative majority” claimed by Eknath Shinde which is an issue to be determined by the Supreme Court in the Constitution Bench.

The petition further said that EC erred in holding there was a split when disqualification proceedings under Tenth Schedule were pending against legislators supporting Shinde.

“Everything has been stolen from me. The name and symbol of our party have been stolen but the name 'Thackeray' cannot be stolen. We have moved the Supreme Court against the decision given by the Election Commission, the hearing will start from tomorrow", he said.

“If those in Delhi have hatched a conspiracy to end Shiv Sena, they will not succeed”, Thackeray said. He demanded that the Election Commission of India be dissolved and reconstituted through ‘proper process’.The Shiv Sena (UBT) faction has cried foul over the allotment of Sena name and symbol to Shinde, who led a coup against Uddhav last year, leading to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government last year. On Sunday, Uddhav faction member Sanjay Raut claimed that a deal worth ₹2,000 crore took place to 'purchase the Sena party name and symbol.