Mumbai: A couple of days after Uddhav Thackeray faction lost the party name and symbol to Shinde faction, the Shiv Sena faction supported by the former chief minister of Maharashtra has called for an urgent meeting with district heads to discuss strategies for plugging loopholes in the party at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar at 12 pm on Monday.
With the Election Commission of India allotting the party's name and symbol to chief minister Eknath Shinde, the leaders of the Thackeray faction are drawing up a plan so as to ensure that MLAs owing allegiance to them do not leave them and join the Shinde faction. The Thackeray group has also condemned the commission's decision and moved the Supreme Court against this.
In this context the Thackeray group has pulled up its socks so that the local level of Shiv Sena are not disrupted due to the commission's decision. Elections to the local bodies are likely to be announced sometime in the next coming months. This time, they will have to fight the polls without their original symbol.
The party insiders apprehend that the possibility of migration of the MLAs from Thackeray group to Shinde's fold for the symbol cannot be ruled out. The group has to take a decision on their future course of action and take a firm stand on what is to be done so that no MLA leaves the party.
A similar meeting was held with the MLAs and MPs two days ago. Now, a meeting of the district heads has been called. Senior leaders including Uddhav Thackeray, Aditya Thackeray, Anil Desai, Anil Parab will be present at this meeting.
The meeting is also scheduled to decide the future name of the party. According to party insiders a debate on the proposal of the name that whether it should be 'Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' or whether some other names should be considered.
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After the commission's decision, a large number of Shiv Sena MLAs went to Matoshree and supported Uddhav Thackeray.
The budget session of the state legislature will begin from February 27. The Shinde group has already issued a whip to all MLAs to decide the role of the party during the session. The commission has approved the Shinde group as the real Shiv Sena. The meeting called by the Shinde group wherein all MLAs elected under the bow and arrow symbol have been asked to be present, was held at 11 am today.
As the Supreme Court's verdict is pending, the Shinde group's whip remains a legal matter. However, it is important to see whether MLAs of the Thackeray faction attend this meeting or not.
