Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray ie UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Monday that the Election Commission can allot a symbol to a party, but it does not have the right to change the name of the party. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Thackeray also told reporters in Amravati district during his visit to Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region that the name ‘Shiv Sena’ was given by his grandfather (Keshav Thackeray) and he would not let anyone ‘grab’ it.
In February this year, the Election Commission had allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and its party symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The commission allowed the Thackeray faction to retain the name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the ‘torch’ election symbol, given to it in an interim order, till the assembly bypolls in the state are over.
Eknath Shinde rebelled against Thackeray in July last year and formed an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Uddhav Thackeray said on Monday, “The Election Commission does not have the right to change the name of any party. He can allot the election symbol to any party.” He said, “The name Shiv Sena was given by my grandfather. How can the commission change its name? I will not let anyone usurp the name of the party.”
To a question about efforts by some opposition parties to unite to take on the BJP-led central government ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections in the country, Thackeray said, “I will not call it unity of opposition parties, but we are all patriots. And we are doing this for democracy.” He said that this is the unity of the people who love their country.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear on July 31 former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s plea against the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to allot the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and party symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to the Shinde faction. Thackeray, in his petition, has said that the matter requires an urgent hearing as the order is completely illegal in view of the May 11 verdict given by the constitution bench of the apex court.