The Supreme Court today heard a petition filed by Shiv Sena (UBT), in which the party sought an early decision on its election symbol, considering the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra.
Supreme Court: The political turmoil in Maharashtra, which has been ongoing for the past two years, has once again reached the Supreme Court. Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, bly urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to expedite the hearing on the dispute related to its election symbol, as the local body elections in the state are imminent, and the party would suffer significant losses if the notification is issued.
Shiv Sena (UBT)'s senior lawyer, Devadatt Kamat, appearing before the bench of Supreme Court Justices MM Sundresh and K. Vinod Chandran, clearly stated that the party's election symbol is its identity, and it would be impossible to make any changes once the notification for the local body elections is issued. He appealed to the court to conduct the hearing either this week or next week so that the situation could be clarified.
Dispute pending for two years, questions on the commission's decision
The dispute over the election symbol deepened after the split in Shiv Sena in June 2022. Both Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, and Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, staked their claim on the traditional 'bow and arrow' election symbol. The matter reached the Election Commission, which, after a long hearing in February 2023, declared the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and awarded them the 'bow and arrow' symbol.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction challenged this decision of the Election Commission in the Supreme Court, which is still pending. Devadatt Kamat argued, "We have been waiting for justice for two years, but now the local body elections are very close. If the matter of the election symbol remains unresolved and the notification is issued, our party will suffer irreparable damage."
Next hearing on July 14
After the hearing, the Supreme Court refused to pass an immediate interim order and said that the matter would be relisted on July 14, 2025. The court said that it would decide the further course of action after hearing the arguments of all parties on that day. The local body elections in Maharashtra, especially in major cities like Mumbai, Thane, and Pune, have become a matter of life and death for Shiv Sena (UBT). Party leaders say that the workers and voters have been associated with the 'bow and arrow' symbol for decades; thus, giving another symbol at the time of elections will directly lead to losses.
According to party sources, the Thackeray camp plans to strengthen its political hold through the local body elections, for which getting the traditional election symbol is very important.
Shinde faction's argument
On the other hand, the Eknath Shinde faction says that the Election Commission, after following the entire process, considered their side b and gave the symbol; therefore, there should be no change in this now. Leaders of the Shinde faction have also said earlier that the purpose of repeatedly postponing the hearing in the Supreme Court is only to gain political advantage. Experts believe that the local body elections will be the real test of strength for both factions of Shiv Sena. If the Uddhav Thackeray faction does not get relief on the election symbol, it may face a big challenge in expanding its organization at the local level and connecting with the voters.
