SC hearing on 'real' Shiv Sena: What happens if Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde is disqualified?

The Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the Shiv Sena tussle between Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday. A Constitution Bench will give a decisive judgment on who is the ‘real’ Shiv Sena, the fate of the Shinde-faction 16 MLAs who revolted against Thackeray, and whether Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be disqualified from the party.

If this were to happen, the BJP-Shiv Sena-led government in the state would likely collapse calling for President’s rule or mid-term elections.

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For the unversed, when the 16 MLAs rebelled against Sena chief Uddhav’s faction, a disqualification action was taken against them. Subsequently, a petition was filed against this and will be heard today.

Earlier, the Shinde faction had put forward their request to the Election Commission (EC) to recognize them as the real Shiv Sena and grant them the party poll symbol. However, the SC August told the EC to not take a decision until the hearing.

Meanwhile, Congress and NCP leaders expressed that justice would be served only if those rebel MLAs who voted against the party whip be disqualified from the party.

NCP State President Jayant Patil at a press conference in Pune spoke about the case on Monday. As quoted by Loksatta, he said, “If there is justice in the country, we will win. If there is any judicial system left in the country, those who have voted against the party whip will be disqualified under the Tenth Schedule rules. It is natural that they will be disqualified.”