Uddhav Calls Party Meeting to Discuss Road Ahead After EC Recognises Shinde Faction as Real Shiv Sena

a day later Election Commission (EC) recognized the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena, with rival camp chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday calling a meeting of his party leaders and office-bearers to discuss the future course of action.

A Thackeray aide said a meeting of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leaders, deputy leaders, elected representatives and spokespersons would be held at Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshree’ in suburban Bandra in the afternoon.

In a major blow to Thackeray, the Election Commission on Friday allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and its election symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the CM Shinde-led group.

This is the first time that the Thackeray family has lost control of the party founded by Balasaheb Thackeray in 1966 on the principles of justice for the sons of the soil.

In a unanimous order on a six-month-old petition filed by Shinde, the three-member commission said it relied on the party’s strength in the legislature where the chief minister had the support of 40 of the 55 MLAs. and 13 out of 18 Lok Sabha members.

Shinde parted ways with Thackeray in June last year and formed the government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In its order, the commission noted that the 40 MLAs supporting the Shinde faction secured 36,57,327 votes out of a total of 47,82,440 votes, which is about 76 per cent of the votes polled in favor of the 55 victorious MLAs. This was in contrast to the 11,25,113 votes polled by the 15 MLAs, whose support is claimed by the Thackeray faction.

Thackeray had on Friday termed the EC’s decision as ‘dangerous for democracy’ and said he would challenge it in the Supreme Court, while CM Shinde called the development a ‘victory for truth and the people’.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)