It is a question of lakhs of rupees whether the Election Commission will take the same decision on Shiv Sena as it has done in the case of Lok Janshakti Party or will its decision on Shiv Sena be different? This question has been arising ever since the Supreme Court ordered that the Election Commission should decide about Shiv Sena. At the same time, it is also being said that the decision of the Supreme Court is a big victory for the Eknath Shinde faction and a big blow to the Uddhav Thackeray faction. It is also surprising that why there is such a perception that the decision of the Election Commission in the Shiv Sena case will go against the Uddhav Thackeray faction?
The model of Lok Janshakti Party is in front of the Election Commission. After the death of Ram Vilas Paswan, there was a split in the Lok Janshakti Party and five out of the six MPs of the party came together and claimed to be the real LJP. Speaker in the Lok Sabha also gave him recognition. The leader of that faction, Pashupati Paras, is a minister in the central government. Later, when the real party’s claim reached the Election Commission, the commission gave a balancing decision. The commission confiscated the Lok Janshakti Party name and shack election symbol. So, the name of the party of Pashupati Paras faction is Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party and the name of the party of Chirag Paswan faction is Lok Janshakti Party Ramvilas.
So, the model has the commission to take a similar decision in the case of Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena’s name and arrow bow election symbol should be confiscated and separate names and symbols should be allotted to both the groups. But if it has to happen then how will it be a big victory for the Shinde faction? A big victory for the Shinde faction will happen when it gets the name and election symbol of Shiv Sena. Only then will it have any advantage in the municipal elections to be held in the next few days. Like LJP, in Shiv Sena too, most of the MPs and MLAs are with the Eknath Shinde faction but the party organization is still with Uddhav Thackeray.
By law, the Election Commission has to decide by giving equal importance to the party organization, office bearers, state committees etc. with the MPs and MLAs, but usually the commission gives more importance to the number of MPs and MLAs. The side which has more MPs and MLAs is considered real. Despite this, this was not done in the case of Lok Janshakti Party. No one could find the party’s name and symbol as both the factions were with the ruling party at the Centre. Not so in the case of Shiv Sena. In the case of Shiv Sena, the ruling party at the Center is trying to eliminate the Uddhav Thackeray faction. Therefore, it will not be a surprise if the Shinde faction gets both the name and the election symbol of Shiv Sena.
