Thackeray and Shinde Camps Happy with EC Keeping 'Balasaheb' in Their New Names

The groups led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday expressed satisfaction after the Election Commission allotted them new names which mention “Balasaheb” (Thackeray). The poll body allotted ShivSena – Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the party name for the Thackeray faction and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ for the Shinde group.

The Commission also okayed the ‘flaming torch’ (mashaal) as the election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray faction but asked the Shinde group to submit a fresh list of three symbols by 10 am on Tuesday.

“We are happy that the three names that matter to us most Uddhav ji, Balasaheb and Thackeray – are retained in the new name, Thackeray loyalist and former Maharashtra minister Bhaskar Jadhav said.

Chief whip Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde group said they always wanted the name of Balasaheb and are happy to get it. “Our faction will no longer be called Shinde camp but ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena'”, he added.

The Commission also rejected Trishul’ (trident) and ‘Gada’ (mace) as election symbols claimed by the two factions of the Shiv Sena, citing their religious connotations. “It does not make any difference to us what symbol we would get from the election commission,” Gogawale added.

Deepak Kesarkar, a spokesperson of the Shinde camp, said, “We will discuss with CM Shinde and finalise new symbols for submission before the EC.”

The Election Commission on Saturday froze the Shiv Sena’s bow and arrow symbol amid a tussle between the two factions. The poll body had also asked the two factions to choose from among the symbols that are available and submit three options for their interim markers by 1 pm on Monday.

Shinde had rebelled against Thackeray’s leadership, claiming the support of 40 of the Shiv Sena’s 55 MLAs and 12 of its 18 members in the Lok Sabha. Following Thackeray’s resignation as chief minister of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition, Shinde became chief minister with the support of the BJP in June.

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