The bow and arrow symbol is synonymous with the Shiv Sena since 1989. The symbol prominently featured during the Dussehra rallies held by Uddhav Thackeray at Shivaji Park in Mumbai as well as Eknath Shinde in BKC. PTI
The battle of the ‘real’ Shiv Sena is heating up.
Both the factions — one headed by Uddhav Thackeray and the other by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde — have been given time until today to submit their new names and symbols after the Election Commission (EC) barred both of them from using the party name and symbol for the high-stakes 3 November Andheri East Assembly bypoll.
Why did the EC freeze the symbol and name? How do both parties proceed? What happens next in this battle for the legacy of Bal Thackeray? Read on to find out the answers of these questions and much, much more.
Uddhav’s choices
After the Election Commission froze the bow and arrow symbol and the name ‘Shiv Sena’ on Saturday, the Uddhav Thackeray faction submitted a list of three names and symbols for the upcoming bye-elections.
When it comes to names, the three options are: Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Thackeray), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Prabodhankar Thackeray), in order of preference.
For symbols, the Uddhav-led group has chosen the trishul (trident), a rising sun and mashaal (torch), in order of preference, as its alternates.
Incidentally, these three options are not listed as free symbols by the Election Commission on their website.
According to a report in the Indian Express, the Uddhav-led group in a four-page letter told the EC that the party should be allotted the trishul (trident) even if it is not in the list of free symbols, adding that it is not used by any recognised state or national party.
“It is submitted that the current free symbols available in the list of free symbols are not at all reflective of the ideology, ethos and principles of Shiv Sena party and, as such, cannot be an appropriate vehicle/ symbol to depict the aspirations and the values of the political party,” says the letter.
Eknath Shinde’s picks
On the other hand, Eknath Shinde who triggered the split in the party has yet to submit his choices for name and symbol to the EC.
A News18 report citing sources said that the Maharashtra chief minister is likely to submit sword, trumpet and mace symbols to the poll body.
According to the Times of India, the Shinde camp is very keen on the trumpet (tutari) symbol and it also received maximum support from the MPs and MLAs. We may include the names of Balasaheb Thackeray or Anand Dighe in the three party names,” a Shinde faction leader was quoted as telling Times of India.
The Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions both claim to be true Shiv Sainiks and want the party symbol to be theirs. PTI
What next
The EC’s Saturday announcement of freezing the party’s ‘bow and arrow’ symbol along with its name has irked the Uddhav Thackeray group, with the side calling it an ‘injustice’.
In fact, addressing a Facebook Live event on Saturday, Uddhav Thackeray had said, “First of all, it is an injustice that the symbol has been frozen. I was not expecting this order from the EC, when the issue of disqualification of 16 rebel MLAs is already pending in the SC… I request the EC to give us one of the three symbols and names we have submitted, at the earliest, so that we can go to the court of the people. Whatever the people decide, we will accept. We are not scared.”
It is being reported that the Uddhav faction will now move the Delhi High Court against the Election Commission’s freezing decision.
Anil Desai, Rajya Sabha member and Uddhav camp loyalist, told India Today, “The basis of our petition is that the Election Commission has not given us adequate time and opportunity to decide the symbol and name.”
Also read: A look at how parties are allocated symbols for elections
The history of the Sena symbol
Today, both leaders — Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde — are battling it out for the Shiv Sena symbol. However, the ‘bow and arrow’ wasn’t always the Sena’s symbol. In fact, it got the bow and arrow as its official symbol only in 1989.
Earlier, the Sena, when it first contested elections in 1967, the symbol was that of a shield and two crossed swords. Until 1989, the party contested elections on different symbols like coconut tree, railway engine, and cup and plate.
Why the freeze on the symbol
On Saturday, the poll body froze the Shiv Sena’s bow and arrow symbol and temporarily forbade both Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions to use the party name for the upcoming bypolls in Andheri East.
The EC said that the interim order was being passed considering the urgency surrounding the Andheri East bypolls scheduled for 3 November, for which the last date of filing the nomination is 14 October.
The EC said that this had been done “in order to place both the rival groups on even keel and to protect their rights and interests, and going by the past precedence… to cover the purpose of the current bye-elections and to continue till the final determination of the dispute in the matter.”
The EC will take a call on who will get the symbol after taking in all the available facts and circumstances of the case and the decision of the Commission shall be binding on all sections and groups.
This means that the EC’s word will be the final matter and they will decide who the official Shiv Sena is.
With inputs from agencies
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