E-Paper
Why is Shinde faction real Shiv Sena? 10 reasons Speaker gave | Explained
Sena vs Sena verdict explained: Uddhav Thackeray's decision was not synonymous to the party's will, according to the 1999 constitution, the Speaker said.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday ended the Sena versus Sena battle as of now by declaring that Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena was the real Shiv Sena party when the rival factions emerged in 2022. The verdict was lengthy as the Speaker went on reading and explaining it for over an hour. The Uddhav faction rejected the verdict and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said the Uddhav faction will challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court. In 2023, the Supreme Court said it could not pass a verdict to overthrow the Shinde government as Uddhav Thackeray resigned before taking a floor test. The top court asked the Assembly Speaker to decide on the disqualification of the MLAs.
Here is what he said: Explained in 10 points
1. The Speaker said the constitution of the party was relevant to decide which was the real party as the constitution lays down the leadership structure
2. The Shiv Sena (undivided) constitution was amended in 2018 but it was not on the records. So, the constitution of 1999 which was there with the Election Commission of India was considered.
Sena vs Sena: Follow LIVE updates
3. There was no organisational election in 2018.
4. In the 2018 leadership structure, the paksha pramukh is mentioned as the highest office but the 2018 leadership structure was not in conformity with the constitution.
5. Shiv Sena constitution (1999) said the national executive, not the paksha pramukh, was the highest body.
6. The party constitution said the paksha pramukh does not have any absolute power and he has to consult with the national executive.
7. So going by this, Uddhav Thackeray had no power to remove Eknah Shinde from the post of the legislature party leader. Uddhav's decision is not the will of the political party.
8. When there is a vertical split, leaders from both sides can claim they are the original party. The Shinde group had the majority of 37 out of 54 MLAs when the rival factions emerged in June 2022, Narwekar said explaining the decisive factor.
9. The Uddhav faction claimed that the Shinde faction acted in connivance with the BJP but that cannot be accepted as they did not provide any evidence for it.
10. The Uddav faction claimed the Shinde faction became incommunicado. But two of the Uddhav faction leaders met Shinde and other MLAs in Guwahati. And also the act of remaining incommunicado is not a reason for disqualification.
