Uddhav’s Sena faction alleges EC bias over party symbol and name

The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged bias by the Election Commission (EC) in the allocation of party symbols and name. The faction has been battling the group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for control of the organisation.

Through its lawyer Vivek Singh, the Thackeray faction wrote to the Election Commission, “…several communications and the actions of the Hon’ble Commission have given rise to a serious apprehension of bias in the mind of the respondent.”

Last week, the EC had barred the rival factions of the Shiv Sena from using the party name and the bow and arrow symbol, pending the settlement of the dispute over the “real Shiv Sena.”

Earlier this week, the EC allotted “Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray” as the name and a flaming torch as the election symbol for the Thackeray faction. The Shinde faction got the name “Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena” and two swords and a shield as the election symbol.

Also Read: EC allots two swords and a shield as poll symbol to Shinde faction of Shiv Sena

“Unfair advantage”

Singh contended that the EC did not grant the party adequate time to file its reply on Shinde’s claims to the bow-and-arrow symbol for the Andheri East bypoll in Maharashtra.

The Thackeray faction also alleged that the EC had uploaded its letter conveying the preference for poll symbols and party names on the poll authority’s website, making it accessible to everyone, including the rival faction.

“This was done even before the Commission took a decision on the allocation of symbols and possibly even before the petitioner submitted his own list of proposed symbols and names, thus giving the petitioner and his group an unfair advantage over the respondent,” Singh wrote.

He claimed that the Shinde faction had “very tellingly” given the same first choice of name and the same first and second choices of the symbol as the Thackeray faction.

Also Read: Uddhav moves Delhi HC against EC order freezing Shiv Sena name, poll symbol

“This could not have happened but for the fact that the Hon’ble Commission shared a privileged communication from the respondent on its public website. This one-sided and unfair disclosure gave the petitioner information that he immediately used to his advantage by ensuring that his preferences regarding name and symbol blocked the respondent from being allotted his first preference,” Singh wrote.

The EC’s letter allotting the flaming torch to the Thackeray faction did not carry the image of the poll symbol, while the letter to the Shinde faction contained a large pictorial representation of the two swords and a shield poll symbol, the letter said. It was “again giving an unfair advantage to the petitioner,” the Thackeray faction complained.

(With inputs from agencies)