'Will not allow it': Uddhav Thackeray says EC cannot change party's name

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that while the Election Commission (EC) has the power to allot electoral symbols to a party, it cannot change the name of a party. Speaking to reporters in Amaravati district during a tour of Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, Thackeray also said the name ‘Shiv Sena’ was given by his grandfather (Keshav Thackeray) and he will not let anyone “steal” it. Following the split in Shiv Sena, the EC allotted the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and its bow and arrow symbol to the Eknath Shinde camp. Meanwhile, the election body also allowed the Uddhav-Thackeray camp to retain its original name with the suffix of Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, Uddhav Thackeray broke ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with the help of the NCP and Congress. In June last year, Eknath Shinde broke away from Shiv Sena to join hands with the BJP which ultimately led to a change in government in Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said, the Election Commission has no powers to change the name of a party. It can allow an electoral symbol for a party. “The name Shiv Sena was given by my grandfather, how can the EC change the name? I will not allow anyone to steal the name of the party,” he said. To a question on some opposition parties trying to come together to take on the BJP-led central government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls due next year, he said, “I will not call it as the unity of the opposition parties, but we all are patriots and we are doing it for the sake of democracy.” Uddhav Thackeray also said that despite the imposition of Emergency (1975-77) in the country, the then government allowed the opposition parties to campaign for the general elections. Notably, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on July 31, Thackeray’s plea against the EC’s order allotting the party name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led group. With inputs from PTI