Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has termed Wednesday’s order by Maharashtra Meeting Speaker Rahul Narwekar on the ‘real’ Shiv Sena as “weakening the anti-defection law”, “murder of democracy” and a “political fixed-game”.
Narwekar dominated in favour of the Eknath Shinde-led Sena faction, upheld the celebration’s whip and turned down calls for to disqualify both faction’s MLAs.
Chatting with ThePrint, leaders from the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) asserted that the decision was on anticipated grounds and the celebration would formulate a technique to interrupt down the order for voters in a approach to construct a sympathy wave earlier than the overall elections.
“This was an expected decision. In fact, the verdict has favoured us. We will go to the public and we will bounce back,” Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Sushma Andhare advised ThePrint.
One other senior Shiv Sena (UBT) chief stated the celebration “will go out to the people and tell them what has happened”. Finally, it’s the public which supplies the ultimate verdict in a democracy, the chief added.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, in a press convention after the decision, additionally asserted that “we don’t accept this verdict and will appeal in the Supreme Court”.
“This is not the final verdict. It will not stand in the SC and definitely not in the people’s court.”
“If you don’t accept our party’s constitution from 2018, then why haven’t you (the Speaker) disqualified us?” he requested.
“People here know which is the real Shiv Sena,” Thackeray stated on the press convention. “If they think they can confuse people before the elections, then they are wrong. People know who the real Shiv Sena is. The Shiv Sena can never be finished.”
Shinde had rebelled in opposition to Thackeray in June 2022 together with 39 different MLAs, inflicting a break up within the celebration, and toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities comprising the undivided Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Occasion and the Congress.
The Shinde faction then joined the BJP to kind a authorities with Shinde because the CM. The 2 Sena factions filed disqualification petitions in opposition to one another.
In his verdict, Narwekar declared the structure of the Shiv Sena in 2018 as invalid.
Narwekar stated the Shiv Sena (UBT) was counting on a supposedly amended 2018 structure of the celebration, whereas the Shinde-led faction contended that the structure of 1999 must be taken on document, as the brand new one was by no means submitted to the Election Fee.
“If both factions have submitted different constitutions, what should be taken into account is the constitution filed to the EC before the dispute arose… Prima facie, it is evident from records that the 1999 constitution was submitted to the EC by the Shiv Sena before rival factions emerged,” Narwekar opined.
Thackeray alleged that as an alternative of strengthening the anti-defection regulation, the decision as an alternative weakened it.
His son and celebration MLA Aaditya Thackeray termed the decision as “murder of democracy”. “We hope the Hon’ble Supreme Court will ensure that there will be protection for the Constitution and democracy against this disgraceful political fixed-game,” he advised the media.
Within the coming days, leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) plan to satisfy to formulate the following transfer on how you can struggle the battle within the apex courtroom in addition to on floor.
On Tuesday, a day earlier than the decision, the Shiv Sena (UBT) filed an affidavit within the SC objecting to alleged conferences between Narwekar, a BJP MLA, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on the latter’s official residence.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders have alleged misuse of energy by the ruling BJP and stated they might take this “injustice against them” to the individuals in ballot marketing campaign.
“The BJP is misusing power and money, and we are taking this to the public. Now they (the people) have to decide who is right and who is wrong, who is telling the truth and who is telling lies. When it is time for the elections, people will give us justice,” Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey advised ThePrint.
Additionally Learn: How Uddhav is rebuilding his Sena for 2024 after Shinde’s defection blow
How dispute unfolded
In February final yr, the Election Fee recognised the Shinde camp to be the actual Shiv Sena, and allotted the celebration’s “bow and arrow” image on the premise of its legislative power.
In Could, the Supreme Courtroom put the ball within the Speaker’s courtroom to resolve on the disqualification petitions.
The Speaker largely utilized three assessments whereas deciding which is the actual Shiv Sena — the celebration’s structure, management construction, and legislative power — and gave a ruling on the identical foundation as that utilized by the EC: which faction has the legislative power.
Delivering his verdict on petitions filed in opposition to 54 MLAs of each factions of the Shiv Sena, Narwekar stated: “Which faction is the real political party is clear from the legislative majority as of when the rival factions emerged.”
He decided 21 June 2022 to be the date of the break up, and stated that, in response to the data obtainable with the legislative secretariat, the Shinde faction had an amazing majority — 37 of 55 MLAs — on the time.
In dismissing the disqualification petitions of the 2 rival teams, the Speaker stated the grounds cited by each side have been mere allegations, and that there was no clear proof of a whip being served on MLAs in both faction.
Political analyst Abhay Deshpande advised ThePrint that had the MLAs from Thackeray’s facet acquired disqualified, then they might have gotten extra sympathy.
“Nothing was unexpected but the only curiosity was which way the verdict would be delivered. This decision is based on the EC. If Thackeray’s MLAs had got disqualified, then they would have received a lot of public sympathy,” he stated.
“But now, the party needs to see how much sympathy they can get. It also needs to see whether Thackeray can directly approach the SC or they will be referred to the high court since there is no need for immediate intervention.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Additionally Learn: After ‘Shinde-over-Fadnavis’ advert, Sena in damage-control mode. New advert exhibits CM & deputy as a group
