Victory of truth, says Eknath Shinde on EC’s order on Shiv Sena symbol

The EC order, a huge blow to Uddhav Thackeray-led faction, allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and its poll symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the group led by the Maharashtra chief minister.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Friday hailed the Election Commission of India (ECI) order in his battle with the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena as a victory of the truth. “This is a case where truth has won. This is a victory for democracy. Our country runs as per the Constitution. Our government is constitutional. This decision is done on merit and I thank the Election Commission. This is a win of democracy,’’ Shinde told reporters shortly after the ECI delivered its verdict.

Eknath Shinde’s party workers celebrate the Election Commission order on party name Shiv Sena and election symbol . (HT Photo/Praful Gangurde)

The 77-page ECI order, which came as a huge blow to Uddhav Thackeray, allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and its poll symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the group led by the Maharashtra chief minister.

The election watchdog said it applied the principles of the ‘Test of party Constitution’ and the ‘Test of Majority’ to finalise the order. State legislators in the Eknath Shinde camp had received nearly 76% of the votes polled in favour of the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls. The Thackeray faction’s MLAs got 23.5% cent of votes polled in favour of the winning Shiv Sena candidates, it added.

Sheetal Mhatre, spokesperson of Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena said, “This is a big day for us. We have been saying that the decision will be taken because of merit. We have been saying that we are real Shiv Sena. Now, a lot of Shiv Sena (UBT) men will come to us because we have the the symbol and the party name to get the edge.’’

Sindhudurg MP Vinayak Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT) said this happened due to political pressure

Bal Thackeray’s brother-in-law Chandu Mama Vaidya said, “Balasaheb wanted bow and arrow as his symbol as his words were like an arrow. He always stuck to his word... Hence he got the symbol changed from a torch to a bow and arrow…. Losing this symbol is a big setback for us.’’