New Delhi: The party name 'Shiv Sena', as well as the 'bow and arrow' electoral symbol will be retained by the Eknath Shinde faction of the party, Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday. Noting the Sena's current party constitution was undemocratic, the poll body also highlighted that it had been "undemocratically appoint people from a coterie as office bearers without any election at all" as per news agency ANI.
The constitution of the Shiv Sena amended in 2018 was not handed over to the Election Commission, it also observed, noting that the amendment had "undone the act of introducing democratic norms in the Party Constitution of 1999", implemented by party supremo late Balasaheb Thackeray. It further noted that the "undemocratic norms of the original constitution of Shiv Sena" which were changed in the 1999 reform, had been "brought back in a "surreptitious manner".
The EC also advised political sides to regularly disclose aspects such as how the party functions, including inner organisations, holding of elections, and list of key office-bearers, urging parties to upload the details on their official website. Noting that the constitutions of political parties were supposed to ensure easy access to "free, fair and transparent elections to the post of office bearers", EC observed that similar free and fair procedures to resolve internal tussle - which should ideally be difficult to amend and can be amended only after securing larger support from organisational members.
"The 40 MLAs, supporting the Shinde faction, garnered 36,57327 votes out of a total of 47,82440 votes i.e ~76 per cent of votes polled in favour of 55 winning MLAs in the GA to the LA 19. This contrasts with 11,25113 votes garnered by 15 MLAs whose support is claimed by the Uddhav Thakre faction i.e ~ 23.5 per cent of votes polled in favour of winning 55 MLAs," it said.
Meanwhile, reacting to the development, Uddhav faction spokesperson Anand Dubey said the group had suspected the situation would come to this. "The order is what we had suspected. We had been saying that we don't trust the EC. When matter is sub-judice before SC & no final decision has been taken, this haste by EC shows it works as a BJP agent under Central Govt.We condemn this" he was quoted as saying.
