Can Uddhav Thackeray continue as Sena party president beyond Jan 23?

Mumbai: With the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) silence on the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s request to allow the party to hold internal elections or maintain status quo so that Uddhav Thackeray can continue as party president, a big question mark hangs over Thackeray’s tenure. His term ends on January 23.

Meanwhile, arguments by both the warring factions vis-à-vis their claim to the name and party symbol of the pre-split Shiv Sena have concluded. The ECI will hear the case next on January 30, following which a final order is expected in February.

When asked about the stalemate regarding the post of party president, party leader Anil Parab insisted that Thackeray would continue in the post since there was no specific directive by the ECI. “Uddhav Thackeray is and will be the Shiv Sena party president for party workers and leaders,” he told the media. “For party workers, there is no need of any permission. We sought the ECI’s permission only to comply with the legal formalities.”

The ECI, on Friday, while hearing the Shiv Sena party symbol matter, asked the Thackeray and Shinde factions to submit their written replies in seven days from January 23 and scheduled the next hearing for January 30. “Our counsel argued that the party is not just MPs and MLAs but consists of the National Executive and the party organisation, and we have the majority in this,” said Parab. “The Shinde faction cited the Sadiq Ali case (the Congress split in 1969), but we told the ECI that only when there is an equal split in the party are the number of elected representatives taken into consideration. In this case, there has been no split; some members have defected. The party organisation is with Uddhav Thackeray.”

Parab said that after the 2018 National Executive meeting, no one had raised any questions on the re-election of Uddhav Thackeray. “Now suddenly, after the Shinde faction left the party, they are raising questions,” he said. “There is no provision of the Mukhya Neta (Chief Leader) post in the Shiv Sena constitution. So CM Eknath Shinde electing himself in that post is invalid and unconstitutional. There is no split in the party, and the bow-and-arrow symbol and the name of the party will be with us.”

Nihar Thackeray, counsel for the Shinde faction, told the media in Delhi that it argued before the ECI that it was the real Shiv Sena, as the majority of elected representatives were with it. “The recognition of an elected party depends on the votes it receives. As such, if the maximum elected representatives are with us, we are the real party. We expect a good judgement from the ECI,” he said.

In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray expressed his anger at the ECI stretching the hearing for so long. “The Shiv Sena belongs to Hindu Hruday Samrat Shiv Sena Pramukh Balasaheb Thackeray and party president Uddhav Thackeray and all Shiv Sainiks. The decision will be in our favour, as the truth is with us. But how long will the unconstitutional CM and the government continue?” asked Aaditya.