MUMBAI: In a major development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was named as the chief of Shiv Sena by faction leaders and MLAs following a crucial meeting on Tuesday. The development came within days of the Shinde-led Sena faction being allotted the `shiv Sena` name and the 'bow and arrow' symbol by the Election Commission (EC). Shinde had called the national executive meeting of the Shiv Sena days after the Election Commission recognised his faction as the real Shiv Sena. Today's meeting was attended by MLAs, MPs and other Shiv Sena leaders who have been working with Shinde since he broke away from the party led by Uddhav Thackeray.
Today we held a meeting under the leadership of CM Eknath Shinde. Eknath Shinde will be the chief of our Shiv Sena party. We accept him as the leader of Shiv Sena: Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant pic.twitter.com/1BFwbvgxWI
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2023
This was also the first party-level meeting chaired by CM Shinde after the Election Commission's decision. The ruling faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was earlier in the day assigned an office for the party in Parliament.
In a response to a letter by the Parliamentary party leader, Rahul Shewale, the Lok Sabha Secretariat, confirmed the same." Room No. 128, Parliament House has been allotted to the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party for the office of the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party," he said.
The EC, last Friday, awarded the fiercely-contested `Shiv Sena` name and symbol to the Shinde faction, triggering howls of protest in the rival camp. Former CM Uddhav Thackray, who leads the rival camp, accused the EC of working at the behest of the BJP at the Centre and moved the Supreme Court to challenge the poll panel`s ruling.
Shinde on Monday said that no claim will be laid on any party property post the Election Commission decision on the real Shiv Sena as "we are heirs of Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology and have no temptations".
Shinde triggered a split down the Sena`s middle last year, as he broke away with a band of loyalists -- sitting MLAs, MPs and leaders -- to form a rebel front. The rebellion eventually led to the collapse of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
