New Delhi, May 7 (HS): The Supreme Court has refused to grant an urgent hearing on the petition filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena challenging the Election Commission’s decision regarding the election symbol. The court stated that the hearing on this petition can take place only after the summer recess; however, if there is an urgent need, a hearing may be held during the recess.

Today, senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav faction, mentioned before the bench headed by Justice Surya Kant that the court has directed the local body elections in Maharashtra to be conducted according to the reservation policy prior to 2023. Therefore, an immediate hearing on the Uddhav faction’s petition should be held. The court then asked Sibal why there is a need for an immediate hearing, stating that these are local body elections and it is not necessary for you to contest elections only with a political symbol.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction has challenged in the Supreme Court the Election Commission’s order that recognized the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena. The petition contests the Election Commission’s decision to allocate the ‘Bow and Arrow’ election symbol to the Shinde faction.

On February 17, 2023, the Election Commission designated the Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and allocated the ‘Bow and Arrow’ election symbol. The commission found that the current constitution of the Shiv Sena is undemocratic. The Election Commission stated that undemocratic methods were secretly reinstated in the original constitution of the Shiv Sena, making the party akin to private property. These methods had been rejected by the Election Commission in 1999. Such a structure fails to instill confidence. Against this order of the Election Commission, the Uddhav Thackeray faction has approached the Supreme Court. The ‘Bow and Arrow’ election symbol has been the election symbol of Shiv Sena since the time of Bal Thackeray.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar