In a fresh round of Sena versus Sena, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday filed a caveat in Delhi High Court, against a petition filed by his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray seeking to quash the EC order on the freeze Shiv Sena’s ‘bow and arrow’ election symbol.
The high court is likely to hear the matter on Wednesday, October 12, even as the Thackeray faction has not yet cured defects in its plea.
Earlier in the day, the Shinde group had formally submitted a list poll symbols to the EC — ‘rising sun’, ‘trident’ and ‘mace’. The Thackeray-led faction had submitted their list of symbols and party names on Sunday. The poll body’s decision is pending on both.
Earlier in the day, Thackeray approached the Delhi HC seeking to quash the order of Election Commission of India freezing party name Shiv Sena and its election symbol ‘bow and arrow’. On Saturday, the poll panel had barred both the Sena factions of using the party name and its poll symbol for the upcoming Andheri East bypoll. Both camps will be fighting the bypoll scheduled for November 3, in what will be their first electoral contest after the Thackeray-led MVA government collapsed following Shinde’s large-scale rebellion.
In his petition, Thackeray, who had publicly lambasted the EC’s order calling it “injustice”, has contended it was passed in complete violation of principles of natural justice and without granting any hearing to the parties and giving them an opportunity to lead evidence.
In the EC’s interim order passed following contesting claims made by the rival factions about majority support in the Sena’s legislative and organisational wings, the commission had asked them to suggest by Monday three different name choices and also three free symbols for allocation to their respective groups. Both camps have formally submitted name and symbol choices. The poll body will now examine if the symbols chosen by the two factions clash with each other or whether they are already in use or previously barred.
Thackeray’s petition, which has also made ECI and the Maharashtra CM as parties, sought quashing of the ECI order and, in the alternative, sought directions to consider and allot the symbol proposed by Thackeray without restricting the choice of symbol from the list of free symbols notified by the commission.
“Since bye-elections have been notified in the State of Maharashtra for 166-Andheri East constituency for which the last date of nominations is October 14, 2022, and the date of poll is November 3, grave prejudice will be caused to the petitioner (Thackeray) and his party if the impugned order is not stayed,” the plea stated.
(With PTI inputs)
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