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Battle over Sena symbol as Uddhav Thackeray pushes for polls
But what will happen if the election commission suspends the symbol as a result of the fight? It’s this possibility that no doubt weighed on his mind when Uddhav Thackeray addressed office-bearers on Thursday night and asked them to prepare for a situation where the party might lose the symbol, and would have to go to the voter with a new symbol.
For the Shiv Sena, engaged in an existential battle against the Eknath Shinde-led rebels, the next fight is about the party’s symbol: the bow and arrow.
Such was the party’s hold on its cadre until a few years ago that no matter who the candidate was, the loyalist Sena voter would simply vote for the bow and arrow and ensure a win for the party.
But what will happen if the election commission suspends the symbol as a result of the fight? It’s this possibility that no doubt weighed on his mind when Uddhav Thackeray addressed office-bearers on Thursday night and asked them to prepare for a situation where the party might lose the symbol, and would have to go to the voter with a new symbol.
“You should be prepared for a new Shiv Sena symbol. It may be possible that attempts will be made to stake a claim on our symbol. In case we fail to retain it legally then we should be ready to take the new symbol to every house,” Thackeray ostensibly said during Thursday’s meeting with party office-bearers. A video from that meeting was leaked and created a flutter in Sena circles, and prompted BJP leader Pravin Darekar to claim that Uddhav Thackeray had already given up the battle for his party. HT could not verify the authenticity of the clip.
After the ballyhoo that followed the leaked video, Thackeray clarified his remarks at a press briefing on Friday. The bow and arrow symbol of the Sena, he said, was theirs, and no one else’s.
“Attempts are on to create some confusion and hence I want to urge the people not to fall into their trap. Legislative parties and registered parties are two different things. There are countless citizens, votes, workers, office bearers in the registered party. Not all the office bearers can be poached by means of threats or offering money,” he added.
“What I wanted to underline [at the meeting] was that the electorate also focuses on the candidate and not only on the party symbol. They vote for the Shiv Sena candidate. It doesn’t mean there is any need to worry about the symbol. No one can snatch it from us,” he said, adding that he was confident the judicial verdict would favour him. “I have full confidence in the judiciary. The Supreme Court’s verdict will decide the future of Indian democracy and not just that of the Shiv Sena,” Thackeray said.
“It will ascertain that the country is running on the basis of the constitution given to us by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. I am hopeful of getting justice.” Uddhav went on to say that he was willing to go to the people to seek a new mandate and demanded mid-term polls in the state.
