HC notice to Maharashtra Speaker, others on Shinde faction's pleas
Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar and the 14 MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction on petitions filed by the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. The petitions challenge Narwekar's order refusing to disqualify the Shiv Sena (UBT) legislators. The court has asked Narwekar and the MLAs to file a reply by February 1. The case has been listed for hearing on February 8.
Why does this story matter?
The row started in 2022 when Shinde, along with the support of around 50 MLAs, declared a rebellion against the then CM Thackeray, leading to the Shiv Sena's split. This led to the downfall of the Thackeray-led coalition government of the Shiv Sena, Congress, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Shinde then allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become CM and staked a claim over the Shiv Sena's name and symbol.
Speaker's decision on disqualification challenged
On January 10, Narwekar recognized the Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena. Despite this, he dismissed petitions from both factions that sought the disqualification of MLAs from the opposing group. Although Narwekar acknowledged Bharatshet Gogawale of Shinde's faction as the valid whip, he declined to disqualify Thackeray faction members for violating the whip. He stated that Shinde's faction failed to prove the whip for the confidence vote was served on Thackeray faction MLAs.
Thackeray faction moves Supreme Court
Separately, Thackeray's faction approached the Supreme Court. They challenged the Speaker's decision to recognize Shinde's group as the real Shiv Sena and refusing to disqualify Shinde's faction members for defection under the Constitution's tenth schedule. The faction criticized Narwekar for his ruling and accused him of conspiring with CM Shinde. Thackeray had previously expressed concerns about a meeting between Narwekar and Shinde before the verdict in the Sena MLA disqualification case.
ECI also recognized Shinde group as official 'Shiv Sena'
To recall, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had also ruled in favor of the Shinde camp in February 2023. It allowed team Shinde to retain the "bow and arrow" symbol and the name "Shiv Sena." The Thackeray faction was awarded the name "Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)" and the "flaming torch" symbol.
