NEW DELHI: Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday wrote to the Election Commission and alleged bias in the allotment of symbol and party name for the upcoming bypolls in Maharashtra.
In its letter to EC, Uddhav wrote- “Several communications and actions of ECI have given rise to a serious apprehension of bias in the mind of the respondent (Uddhav Thackeray).”
The Election Commission on Monday recognised the two rival factions of Shiv Sena as separate political parties for the purpose of upcoming Andheri (East) assembly bypoll and until determination of the symbol dispute between them.
While the faction led by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was recognised as ‘ShivSena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’ and allotted the poll symbol ‘flaming torch’ (mashaal), the Eknath Shinde group was recognised as ‘Balasahebanchi ShivSena’ but still awaits allotment of a poll symbol with the EC rejecting all its three preferences.
None of the symbols proposed by either of the two factions figure in the EC list of ‘free’ symbols. However, the commission agreed to declare ‘flaming torch’ – an erstwhile symbol of Samata Party, that was derecognized in 2004 – as a ‘free’ symbol and allot it to the Thackeray faction.
Both the Thackeray and Shinde factions had proposed ‘ShivSena (Balasaheb Thackeray)’ as the first choice for their party name, a clear indication that they wanted a nomenclature that reflects founder Balasaheb’s legacy.
However, EC, in the interest of neutrality, declined to allot the common first choice of name to either group and settled instead for their second preference.
In its letter to EC, Uddhav wrote- “Several communications and actions of ECI have given rise to a serious apprehension of bias in the mind of the respondent (Uddhav Thackeray).”
The Election Commission on Monday recognised the two rival factions of Shiv Sena as separate political parties for the purpose of upcoming Andheri (East) assembly bypoll and until determination of the symbol dispute between them.
While the faction led by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was recognised as ‘ShivSena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’ and allotted the poll symbol ‘flaming torch’ (mashaal), the Eknath Shinde group was recognised as ‘Balasahebanchi ShivSena’ but still awaits allotment of a poll symbol with the EC rejecting all its three preferences.
None of the symbols proposed by either of the two factions figure in the EC list of ‘free’ symbols. However, the commission agreed to declare ‘flaming torch’ – an erstwhile symbol of Samata Party, that was derecognized in 2004 – as a ‘free’ symbol and allot it to the Thackeray faction.
Both the Thackeray and Shinde factions had proposed ‘ShivSena (Balasaheb Thackeray)’ as the first choice for their party name, a clear indication that they wanted a nomenclature that reflects founder Balasaheb’s legacy.
However, EC, in the interest of neutrality, declined to allot the common first choice of name to either group and settled instead for their second preference.