Mumbai: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday allotted the ‘two swords and shield’ election symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena. The Shinde camp had got the name ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena)’ from the poll panel a day earlier.
The Shinde faction, which has been seeking to validate itself as the original Shiv Sena on account of the word ‘Balasaheb’ in its name, can now also link the symbol to the original party. The two swords and shield symbol is one on which Shiv Sena candidates had in the past contested elections till the party got its own symbol, the bow and arrow, in 1989.
The EC, while allotting the Shinde faction the name on Monday had turned down three options submitted by it for an election symbol: the trident, the mace and the rising sun. The poll body rejected the first two choices on account of their religious connotation while the third, the rising sun, was disallowed since it was the symbol of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party. The EC had asked Shinde to submit fresh options for the symbol on Tuesday.
Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena then submitted two options: the two-swords-and-shield symbol and the sun. Once again, the EC rejected the sun since it was the symbol of the DMK in Tamil Nadu as well as that of the Zoram Nationalist Party in Mizoram. “The two swords and shield symbol was reserved earlier for the People’s Democratic Movement party in Mizoram, which was derecognised in 2004. The symbol is allotted to your group for the upcoming by-poll (in Andheri on November 3) and till the final verdict is given in the current dispute,” the order addressed to Shinde stated.
The EC on Saturday had frozen the name and symbol of the Shiv Sena after the dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray faction and Eknath Shinde camp reached the doorstep of the poll panel. Both sides claimed to be the “real Shiv Sena” and submitted affidavits by party workers and office-bearers. The EC had asked both sides to submit three options each by way of a party name and election symbol.
Uddhav Thackeray had submitted the trident, rising sun and flaming torch as his options for the symbol and Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Thackeray), Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Prabodhankar Thackeray) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) as choices for the name of the party. Eknath Shinde had submitted Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Thackeray), Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena Balasahebanchi as his party’s choice. The EC allotted the Shinde camp Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena (Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena).
“Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena is the real Sena supported by people of Maharashtra,” claimed chief minister Shinde.
Naresh Mhaske, spokesperson of Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena, said, “We are happy with the allotment of the symbol. This is the time to fight those who have compromised with Hindutva and pushed Maharashtra back. The swords and shield will help us in doing so. The symbol is the blessing of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to our party.”
Girish Mahajan, BJP MLA, was of the opinion that people’s acceptance of the party was more important than the symbol. “The by-poll and the forthcoming elections will prove the people’s mandate,” he said.
