The possibility of a vertical split in the Shiv Sena seems to be getting stronger with three more MLAs heading to Assam to join the rebel camp led by Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde who has so far claimed the support of more than 40 legislators and some Independents.
Upping the ante against the Thackerays, Shinde has even given a letter to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly’s deputy speaker, signed by 35 Sena MLAs, replacing the chief whip of the Shiv Sena legislature party.
Stunned by the banner of revolt, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray vacated his official residence on Wednesday night, hours after reaching out to Shiv Sena dissidents with an emotional appeal and offering to quit. But Shinde remains defiant that the party should walk out of the “unnatural” alliance with the Congress and NCP, a demand Thackeray hasn’t responded favourably to.
The Eknath Shinde camp is now said to be preparing to lay claim to the Shiv Sena’s ‘bow and arrow’ symbol. Sources told News18 on Thursday that the faction is claiming the support of 41 MLAs to demand the use of the party’s symbol.
News18.com takes a look at how the tussle for Shiv Sena’s name and symbol could play out:
The Symbols Order of 1968
The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 deals with the poll body’s power to recognise parties and allot symbols. If the warring factions belong to a registered and recognised political party, Paragraph 15 of the order says the EC can decide in favour of either faction or neither of them.
“When the Commission is satisfied… that there are rival sections or groups of a recognised political party each of whom claims to be that party the Commission may, after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case and hearing (their) representatives… and other persons as desire to be heard decide that one such rival section or group or none of such rival sections or groups is that recognised political party and the decision of the Commission shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups.”
The first case decided under the 1968 order was the split in the Congress the following year over the choice of Indira Gandhi’s candidate for presidential elections. The anti-Indira faction, known as the Syndicate, proposed the candidature of Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy while Prime Minister Indira Gandhi urged Vice-President VV Giri to contest as an Independent, defying a whip issued by party president Nijalingappa.
Giri won and Indira Gandhi was expelled from the party, splitting the Congress into Congress (O) led by Nijalingappa and Congress (J) led by Indira. The former retained the party’s then symbol which was a pair of bullocks carrying a yoke and the latter was handed the symbol of a cow with its calf.
Parameters for the EC to Decide
In case of a dispute, the Election Commission primarily gauges the support each faction enjoys both within the party’s organisation and its legislature wing.
It identifies the top committees and decision-making bodies within the political party and proceeds to know how many of its members or office-bearers back which faction. It then counts the number of lawmakers and legislators in each camp.
In most of the recent cases, the poll body has gone by the choice of party office-bearers and elected representatives. If for some reason it cannot quantify the support within the organisation, it has solely relied on majority among the party’s MPs and MLAs.
The only time the Election Commission was stumped was the AIADMK’s split in 1987 after the death of MG Ramachandran. MGR’s wife Janaki had the support of majority of the party MLAs and MPs, but his protégé J Jayalalithaa had the overwhelming support of the party members and cadre. The EC was spared having to make a decision when the warring factions reached a compromise.
Options Before the EC
The Election Commission can find in favour of one of the factions after determining the support for it in organisation and legislative wings. It can allow the other factor to register itself as a new political party with different symbol.
In case the EC is unable to determine a winning faction, it may freeze the party’s symbol and ask the warring groups to register with new names and symbols.
Since the process to determine a winner can be time-consuming, the Election Commission can freeze the party symbol and ask the factions to pick a temporary symbol in case elections are around the corner.
In either of these cases, if the factions decide to unite in the future and seek the original symbol back, the EC is empowered to rule on the merger and could decide to restore the symbol to the unified party.
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News watch Top Videos and Live TV here.