The much-discussed dispute over the ownership of the Shiv Sena party name and the 'bow and arrow' election symbol has now reached a decisive stage. The final hearing of this case is set to begin in the Supreme Court from the coming Wednesday, with arguments to be heard continuously for two days. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant will hear this historic case. During the hearing in November, the court had indicated the final hearing. Therefore, it is now speculated that the verdict on this case will be announced soon.
This dispute, which arose after the unprecedented split in the Shiv Sena in 2022, gave a new direction to Maharashtra's politics. The Central Election Commission had given the Shiv Sena party name and the traditional election symbol 'bow and arrow' to the group led by Eknath Shinde in February 2022. Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray has challenged this decision in the Supreme Court. Accusing the Shinde group of betraying the party, the Thackeray group has claimed that the Election Commission's decision is illegal.
Along with this case, the Supreme Court will also hear another important petition simultaneously. Shiv Sena's chief whip and MLA Sunil Prabhu has challenged the decision of Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar. Narvekar had decided to qualify the MLAs from the Shinde faction instead of disqualifying them. This decision had caused intense dissatisfaction in the Thackeray faction. Since both petitions are interrelated, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear them together.
During this final hearing, there is a possibility of detailed arguments on the powers of the Election Commission, internal democracy within the party, provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, and the role of the Speaker of the Assembly. Experts believe that the outcome of this case will not be limited to Shiv Sena alone, but could have far-reaching implications on potential splits in other political parties in the country.
Meanwhile, this hearing has caught the attention not only of the political circles in Maharashtra but also of the general public. The future political equations in the state will be determined by who ultimately gets the final right to the Shiv Sena party and the 'bow and arrow' symbol. Therefore, this verdict of the Supreme Court is likely to be historic and extremely important.