Uddhav Sena writes to EC over image and title, alleges bias 

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged bias by the Election Commission within the allocation of get together symbols and title because it battles for management of the organisation with the group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“Several communications and the actions of the Hon’ble Commission have given rise to a serious apprehension of bias in the mind of the Respondent,” the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena stated in a letter to the Election Commission by way of its lawyer Vivek Singh.

Last week, the Commission had barred the rival factions of the Shiv Sena from utilizing the get together title and the ‘bow and arrow’ image, pending the settlement of the dispute over the “real Shiv Sena”.

Earlier this week, the Commission had allotted ‘Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ because the title and ‘flaming torch’ because the election image for the Thackeray faction.

The Shinde faction obtained the title ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ and ‘two swords and a defend’ because the election image.

Singh, the lawyer for the Thackeray faction, contended that the Commission didn’t grant the get together satisfactory time to file its reply on Shinde’s claims to the ‘bow and arrow’ image for the Andheri East bypoll in Maharashtra.

The Thackeray faction additionally alleged that the Commission had uploaded its letter conveying the choice for ballot symbols and get together names on the ballot authority’s web site, making it accessible to everybody, together with the rival faction.

“This was done even before a decision was taken by the Commission regarding allocation of symbols and possibly even before the Petitioner had submitted his own list of proposed symbols and names, thus giving the Petitioner and his group a clear unfair advantage over the Respondent,” Singh stated.

He claimed that the Shinde faction had “very tellingly” given the identical first selection of title, and the identical first and second selection of the image as of the Thackeray faction.

“This could not have happened but for the fact that the Hon’ble Commission shared a privileged communication from the Respondent herein on its public website. This one-sided and unfair disclosure gave the Petitioner information that he immediately used to his advantage by ensuring that his preferences regarding name and symbol blocked the Respondent from being allotted his first preference,” Singh stated.

The Commission’s letter allotting the ‘flaming torch’ to the Thackeray faction didn’t carry the picture of the ballot image, whereas the letter to the Shinde faction contained a big pictorial illustration of the ‘two swords and a defend’ ballot image, the letter stated.

“The same is again giving an unfair advantage to the Petitioner,” the Thackeray faction stated.

NEW DELHI: The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged bias by the Election Commission within the allocation of get together symbols and title because it battles for management of the organisation with the group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“Several communications and the actions of the Hon’ble Commission have given rise to a serious apprehension of bias in the mind of the Respondent,” the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena stated in a letter to the Election Commission by way of its lawyer Vivek Singh.

Last week, the Commission had barred the rival factions of the Shiv Sena from utilizing the get together title and the ‘bow and arrow’ image, pending the settlement of the dispute over the “real Shiv Sena”.

Earlier this week, the Commission had allotted ‘Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ because the title and ‘flaming torch’ because the election image for the Thackeray faction.

The Shinde faction obtained the title ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ and ‘two swords and a defend’ because the election image.

Singh, the lawyer for the Thackeray faction, contended that the Commission didn’t grant the get together satisfactory time to file its reply on Shinde’s claims to the ‘bow and arrow’ image for the Andheri East bypoll in Maharashtra.

The Thackeray faction additionally alleged that the Commission had uploaded its letter conveying the choice for ballot symbols and get together names on the ballot authority’s web site, making it accessible to everybody, together with the rival faction.

“This was done even before a decision was taken by the Commission regarding allocation of symbols and possibly even before the Petitioner had submitted his own list of proposed symbols and names, thus giving the Petitioner and his group a clear unfair advantage over the Respondent,” Singh stated.

He claimed that the Shinde faction had “very tellingly” given the identical first selection of title, and the identical first and second selection of the image as of the Thackeray faction.

“This could not have happened but for the fact that the Hon’ble Commission shared a privileged communication from the Respondent herein on its public website. This one-sided and unfair disclosure gave the Petitioner information that he immediately used to his advantage by ensuring that his preferences regarding name and symbol blocked the Respondent from being allotted his first preference,” Singh stated.

The Commission’s letter allotting the ‘flaming torch’ to the Thackeray faction didn’t carry the picture of the ballot image, whereas the letter to the Shinde faction contained a big pictorial illustration of the ‘two swords and a defend’ ballot image, the letter stated.

“The same is again giving an unfair advantage to the Petitioner,” the Thackeray faction stated.