In a setback to the Uddhav Thackeray faction in the so-called Sena versus Sena battle, the Election Commission of India on Friday allotted the ‘bow and arrow’ poll symbol to the Eknath Shinde camp paving the way for it to be the “real Shiv Sena”.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led team will continue to be ‘Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’ with the poll symbol of a ‘flaming torch’ for now, the order said. The decision came about eight months after Shinde toppled Thackeray’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government in June 2022.
In the 78-page order, the ECI also froze the party name ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ and the symbol of ‘two swords and shield’ allotted to the Shinde faction in October 2022.
“On the basis of foregoing, the Commission in exercise of its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution read with Paras 15 and 18 of the Symbols Order, 1968, orders that the party name “Shiv Sena” and the party symbol “Bow and Arrow” will be retained by the Petitioner faction (Shinde),” the order read.
The poll body further directed that the petitioner – Shinde and team – to amend the 2018 Constitution of the Party in line with Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and extant guidelines issued by the commission on registration of political parties inter alia conforming to internal democracy.
The Thackeray faction – allotted ‘Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’ and ‘flaming torch’ – were allowed to retain both till the ongoing bypolls for Chinchwad and Kasba Peth of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, were completed.
‘Forced to rely upon test of majority’
The order, signed by chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, stated that in the circumstances of the case, the commission was forced to rely upon the test of majority in the legislative wing for adjudicating the present dispute.
“The very basis of the recognition of a political party is in terms of percentage of votes it polled in elections to the legislative assembly and or to the House of People and number of elected members as per the provisions of para 6A, 6B and 6C of the Symbols Order,” the order read.
The outcome of the majority test was clearly in favour of Shinde – 40 MLAs supporting him garnered 36,57,327 votes out of a total of 47,82,440, which is 76 percent of votes polled in favor of 55 winning MLAs in the 2019 assembly elections.
“This contrasts with 11,25,113 votes garnered by 15 MLAs whose support is claimed by the respondents (Thackeray) – 23.5% of votes polled in favor of winning 55 MLAs,” the order stated. It added that as against 90,49,789 total votes polled by the Shiv Sena, including candidates who lost in the assembly polls, votes polled by 40 MLAs supporting Shinde were 40 percent whereas votes polled by 15 MLAs supporting Thackeray were just 12 percent of the total votes.
Similarly, the 13 MPs supporting Shinde garnered 74,88,634 votes out of a total of 1,02,45,143 – 73 percent of votes polled in favor of 18 MPs in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This contrasts with 27,56,509 votes garnered by five MPs supporting Thackeray, making it 27 percent votes polled in favor of 18 MPs.
“Further, as against 1,25,89,064, the total votes polled by Shiv Sena in Lok Sabha election, 2019 (including the losing candidates), votes polled by 13 MPs supporting the petitioner (Shinde) comes to 59 percent whereas votes polled by five MPs (claimed six whereas affidavits of only four) supporting the respondents (Thackeray) comes to 22%,” the ECI added.
The order also explained that while the application of this test in the legislative wing of the Shiv Sena had given a clear answer as to which faction is enjoying majority support, the application of the test in the organisational wing of the party is found to be “yielding indeterminable and non-conclusive outcome”.
“Therefore, through a conjoint and wholesome reading of all aspects, outcome of the tests and embedding the democratic imperative, there is a recognisable basis in the factual material of this dispute, to discern the outcome of legislative wing test as the fulcrum, reflecting both, the fact of the split and majority,” the ECI added.
‘Unjust situations often creation of party’
The ECI concluded the order by saying in the absence of democratic internal structures, internal disputes are bound to create rifts and factions leading to determination of the question by the Election Commission under the Symbols Order.
“However, by the time a dispute comes to the commission, the party constitutions are often seen to have been mutilated to undemocratically appoint people from a coterie as office-bearers without any election at all. Such party structures fail to inspire confidence of the commission and the commission is forced to ignore the numerical strength of opposing factions in the organisational wing altogether despite being conscious of its importance and role as the building block of the party,” it said.
The poll body also said these seemingly unjust situations are often a creation of the party itself, which failed to create a robust Constitution that provides for democratic structures within the party and also to protect the Constitution when it was amended to allow undemocratic methods of appointments.
“It is indeed paradoxical that the detailed public scrutiny of the inner workings of a political party is occasioned when the lens of Para 15 of the Symbols Order is invoked,” the order ended.
It added that, ideally and morally, a political party should regularly disclose to the public key aspects of its inner workings to follow extant guidelines prescribed by the ECI and to ensure that its constitution reflects democratic ethos and principles of inner party democracy, and to upload the copy of constitution and list of office-bearers on its respective websites.
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