Eknath Shinde Scores Major Victory as Speaker Rules His Sena Faction Legitimate

Mumbai: In a significant victory for Eknath Shinde, the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, Rahul Narwekar, has affirmed the legitimacy of the Shiv Sena faction under his leadership, citing majority support from party MLAs. The Speaker addressed the disqualification petitions involving 34 factions within Shiv Sena, dividing them into six parts for consideration.

Rahul Narwekar’s ruling highlighted the importance of the 1999 constitution of Shiv Sena, which decentralizes power from the party chief. He pointed out that the amended 2018 constitution, which reinstated power in the hands of the party chief, was not before the Election Commission during the proceedings. Consequently, Uddhav Thackrey, as the Shiv Sena president, lacked the authority to remove Eknath Shinde as the legislative party leader.

This decision comes after 18 months of political turmoil, during which Eknath Shinde, along with over 40 Shiv Sena MLAs, rebelled against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, leading to the downfall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Shinde later aligned with the BJP, assuming the role of Chief Minister, with Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.

Cross-petitions were filed by the Shinde and Thackeray factions under anti-defection laws, and the Supreme Court directed Speaker Rahul Narwekar to expedite the adjudication in May 2023. The Election Commission assigned the ‘Shiv Sena’ name and ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to Shinde’s faction, while Thackeray’s faction was named Shiv Sena (UBT) with a flaming torch symbol.

In a significant development, the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP joined the Shinde-led government in July last year, with Ajit Pawar assuming the role of Deputy CM alongside Devendra Fadnavis. Looking ahead, assembly polls in Maharashtra are scheduled for the second half of 2024.