The Election Commission on Monday allotted ‘flaming torch’ (mashaal) as the election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction. The name of the party led by Uddhav Thackeray will be “Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray”.
However, the Election Commission did not accept the three suggestions sent by the Eknath Shinde faction regarding its poll symbol. The EC has asked the Shinde camp to send three election symbols by 10 am on Tuesday.
The name of the party led by Eknath Shinde will be “BalasahebAanchi Shiv Sena”, the EC interim order said.
The Election Commission denied trishul and gada (mace) as poll symbols to the Sena factions citing religious connotations.
“We are happy, consider this a major victory,” Uddhav Thackeray group’s Bhaskar Jadhav told PTI after being allotted ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the party name.
The ECI had, on October 8, frozen the Sena’s ‘bow and arrow’ symbol and barred the groups led by Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde from using the party name for the November 3 Andheri (East) bypoll in Mumbai.
The EC also asked them to suggest three different name choices and as many free symbols for allocation to their respective groups.
The Uddhav Thackeray camp had submitted three names for approval to the EC — “Shiv Sena Balasaheb Thackeray, Shiv Sena Balasaheb Prabodhankar Thackeray, and Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray”.
They had also submitted to the EC three options for the poll symbol — a rising sun, a burning torch (mashaal), and a trident.
Earlier in the day, the Uddhav Thackeray faction moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of the Election Commission’s order freezing the party’s name and election symbol, PTI reported.
In the petition, Thackeray said the EC’s order was passed in complete violation of principles of natural justice and without granting any hearing to the parties.
The petition has arrayed ECI and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknathrao Sambhaji Shinde as parties, PTI reported.
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