Shinde faction to get Shiv Sena name and bow-arrow symbol, orders EC

Eknath Shinde's faction will be known as Shiv Sena and will keep the bow and arrow symbol officially, the election commission said on Friday.

The Election Commission on Friday ordered that the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena will get the official name of Shiv Sena and the bow-arrow symbol of the Balasaheb Thackeray-founded party, amid an ongoing tussle between the Shinde faction and the Uddhav Thackeray faction over these rights. Following the rebellion spearheaded by Eknath Shinde which resulted in the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray government, the two factions have been staking a claim on the Shiv Sena name and the original symbol of the bow and arrow. As the issue was pending with the election commission, the bow and arrow symbol was frozen. For the bypoll, the two factions were allotted two different symbols -- Shinde faction two swords and a shield, Uddhav faction flaming torch.

Shiv Sena bow and arrow symbol will be the official symbol of the Eknath Shinde faction.

`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 symbol and the party name to get the winning edge," Sheetal Mhatre, Eknah faction spokesperson said.

In its final order, the commission noted that the current constitution of the Shiv Sena party is undemocratic. It has been mutilated to undemocratically appoint people from a coterie as office bearers without any election at all. Such party structures fail to inspire confidence.

"The constitution of political parties ought to provide for free, fair and transparent elections to the posts of office bearers and a further free and fair procedure for the resolution of internal disputes. These procedures ought to be difficult to amend and should be amendable only after ensuring larger support of the organisational members for the same," the ECI said.

Uddhav Thackeray faction MP Sanjay Raut said the Election Commission has lost credibility with the order and Uddhav's faction will now challenge the decision in the court.