New Delhi: The ongoing political tussle within the Shiv Sena took a legal turn on Monday as the Uddhav Thackeray faction moved to the Supreme Court to contest the order of Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar. The Speaker had declared Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Sena bloc as the "authentic political party" following the factional split in June 2022. Additionally, the Speaker rejected the Thackeray faction's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs, including Shinde.
In a significant ruling on January 10, the Speaker refrained from disqualifying any MLA from either faction, solidifying Shinde's position as the chief minister. This decision, occurring 18 months after Shinde led a rebellion against Thackeray, bolstered his political influence within the ruling coalition, comprising the BJP and the NCP (Ajit Pawar group). The timing of this ruling holds strategic importance as it precedes the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the summer and state assembly elections scheduled for the latter half of 2024.
Speaker Narwekar emphasized that party leadership cannot exploit the provisions of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, also known as the anti-defection law, to suppress dissent or indiscipline within the party.
During the split in June 2022, the Shinde-led faction garnered support from 37 out of the total 54 Sena MLAs, according to the Speaker. Notably, the Election Commission formally recognized the Shinde-led faction as the 'Shiv Sena' with the iconic 'bow and arrow' symbol in early 2023.
—Input from Agencies