In ‘Who Is Real Sena’ Fight, Supreme Court Breather For Team Thackeray

In a major victory for Uddhav Thackeray in the struggle for leadership of the Shiv Sena, the Supreme Court today instructed the Election Commission to defer making a decision about a request by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to recognise his organisation as the legitimate party.

On Monday, the Supreme Court is likely to decide whether or not the case needs to be forwarded to a constitution bench.
Mr. Shinde had argued that courts shouldn’t intervene with internal party decisions “made democratically by majority,” asserting that he controls the numbers and, therefore, the Sena.

Chief Justice NV Ramana posed crucial questions to Team Shinde during the hearing today, asking if “it is not a risk to democracy if you are completely ignoring political parties after being elected” Senior attorney Harish Salve, speaking on behalf of the Shinde camp, responded, “No.”

Team Thackeray wants the Election Commission to wait before making a decision. Team Thackeray previously informed the Supreme Court that until there is clarity regarding the disqualification of rebel Sena MLAs who hopped from Gujarat to Assam to Goa in a political operation last month – and deposed Mr. Thackeray – the poll panel cannot decide which group represents the Shiv Sena. The true Sena, according to Eknath Shinde, “A group of 39 people cannot be branded rebels by a group of 15 MLAs. In actuality, the opposite is true “In his response to the court, which is now hearing a number of pleas related to the subject, he had stated.

The case was initially sparked by Team Thackeray’s objection to the Governor’s requests for a trust vote. The BJP, the single-largest party in the Vidhan Sabha, supported Mr. Shinde’s side, helping him to win the vote.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright