Supreme Court to hear Uddhav Thackeray's plea challenging EC's decision on February 22
On Monday, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's decision to recognise the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and award it the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol.
FollowThe Supreme Court has agreed to hear Uddhav Thackeray's plea challenging the Election Commission (EC) decision granting Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction the Shiv Sena party name and symbol on Tuesday, February 21. The plea will be heard on Wednesday, February 22, at 3:30 pm.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Thackeray faction, raised the issue before a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices Krishna Murari, and P S Narasimha. Sibal said, "If the EC order has not stayed, they will seize the symbol and the bank accounts. Please list it before the Constitution Bench tomorrow."
The Supreme Court said it needs to review the case files and scheduled a hearing for 3:30 pm on Wednesday.
On Monday, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission's decision to recognise the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and award it the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol.
The Uddhav faction has asked for an interim stay of the EC ruling in its petition. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has also accused the election commission of failing to fulfil its role as a neutral arbiter. They also claimed that the EC acted in a way that undermined its constitutional status.
On Friday, the Election Commission recognised the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena, awarding them the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol. The Commission granted the Uddhav Thackeray faction the right to retain the 'flaming torch' poll symbol until the state assembly by-elections were completed.
According to the Commission, MLAs who supported Shinde received nearly 76 per cent of the votes cast in support of the Shiv Sena's 55 winning candidates in the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019.
According to the three-member Commission, MLAs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction received 23.5 per cent of the votes cast supporting Shiv Sena candidates.
Meanwhile, after receiving the Shiv Sena name and symbol, Eknath Shinde took over the party office at Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai on Monday morning. Previously, the office was closed due to a division in the Shiv Sena.
Also Read: Uddhav Thackeray moves SC against EC's decision; Team Shinde takes over Vidhan Bhavan Sena office
Also Read: Eknath Shinde to hold Shiv Sena's first National Executive meeting today after EC's decision
Also Read: Maharashtra: Case against team Uddhav Thackeray's Sanjay Raut over remarks against CM Eknath Shinde
