Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on February 20 in Mumbai, said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) should be dissolved immediately and reconstituted through “proper process”.
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His comments came shortly after the Supreme Court, earlier in the day, refused to entertain an oral mentioning made by the Uddhav Thackeray camp to urgently list on February 21 their plea challenging the decision of the ECI allowing rival Eknath Shinde faction the Shiv Sena symbol of ‘bow and arrow’. Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud asked senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the Thackeray camp, to mention his case after listing it like the others.
“The Election Commission of India’s order is wrong. Supreme Court is last ray of hope,” Mr. Thackeray said at Sena Bhawan in Mumbai.
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“They stole everything from me. The name (Shiv Sena) and symbol (bow and arrow) of our party have been stolen, but the name ‘Thackeray’ cannot be stolen,” he said.
“The 2024 Lok Sabha elections may turn out be the last elections in the country, as after that dictatorship will start,” he added
On February 17, the ECI recognised the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and ordered allocation of the “bow and arrow” poll symbol to it.
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In a 78-page order on the protracted battle for control of the organisation, the Commission allowed the Uddhav Thackeray faction to keep the “flaming torch” poll symbol allocated to it till the completion of the assembly bypolls in the State.
The Commission said MLAs backing Eknath Shinde got nearly 76% of votes polled in favour of the 55 winning Shiv Sena candidates in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
Only a day before, Mr. Thackeray had said that what has happened to Shiv Sena can happen to other parties as well. “All parties should keep their eyes open and be cautious,” Mr. Thackeray had said.