Uddhav Thackeray said that in the by-election in Andheri, his party’s candidate had used the name given by the Election Commission. “We won elections using Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. Shinde did not even have the courage to contest elections at that time,” he said.
Two days after the Shiv Sena founded by his father Bal Thackeray lost its name and symbol, Uddhav Thackeray today said the Election Commission should be dissolved and the Election Commissioner elected by the people, NDTV reported.
Hours after the Election Commission’s decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, the former Maharashtra chief minister said, “There is no instance of a party’s name and symbol being given directly to a group. “What was the need to rush this decision?” he questioned.
“I want to ask you why are you all here? I have nothing, everything has been stolen from me, why are you still here? Even if another group takes our name and symbol, they cannot take our Thackeray name. I was lucky to be born in the family of Balasaheb Thackeray. Even with the help of Delhi, they cannot get it,” Thackeray told reporters.
He alleged that BJP is destroying democracy with the help of democratic institutions. He said that he had received support calls from Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar and many others.
“What BJP did to us today, they can do to anyone. If this continues, there will be no democracy or elections in the country after 2024,” he said.
Mr Thackeray also asserted that he never left Hindutva, despite being accused of doing so when he ended the decades-old alliance with the BJP in 2019.
I never left Hinduism, anyone who is a Hindu should speak now.
Thackeray said that the Election Commission should have waited for the verdict of the Supreme Court regarding the disqualification of MLAs.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition lost power in Maharashtra after Eknath Shinde, who formed a new government with the BJP in June, staged a coup in the Shiv Sena.
Since then, factions led by Mr. Thackeray and Eknath Shinde have been fighting to be recognized as the “real Shiv Sena”.
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions questioning the foundation of the Shinde government as Shinde and 15 other rebels were disqualified.
According to the Anti-Defection Act, the Election Commission has said that the Shinde group has the support of two-thirds of its members. “The question is, did two-thirds of the MLAs go together? The answer is no. They went one by one. First 16 MLAs went and then others also went.
Uddhav Thackeray said that in the by-election in Andheri, his party’s candidate had used the name given by the Election Commission. “We won elections using Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. Shinde did not even have the courage to contest elections at that time,” he said.
“During Indira Gandhi’s time there were syndicates and cues. Even then they (Congress) were given new symbols even before they got the hand symbol. Mulayam Singh Yadav never went to court, that’s why Samajwadi Party went to Akhilesh Yadav. There is no instance of it being given directly to a group.”
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