Sena symbol case: Shinde camp tells SC winning MLAs got 76% of votes
Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul cited 2019 assembly and Lok Sabha vote shares to back the Shinde camp's claim to the Shiv Sena symbol before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is hearing the dispute over the Shiv Sena party and its bow-and-arrow symbol. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for the Shinde camp, placed voting data from the 2019 assembly and Lok Sabha elections before the court while making his submissions for the group led by Eknath Shinde.
Kaul told the court that 55 Shiv Sena MLAs had won in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly election. Of the total votes these MLAs received, 76 percent came from the constituencies of the 40 MLAs who support Eknath Shinde. He pointed out to the court that the remaining 15 MLAs, who support the petitioners, accounted for only 23.5 percent of the vote share.
Kaul also cited Lok Sabha election data. He said 18 Shiv Sena MPs had been elected, and of the total votes they received, 73 percent came from the constituencies of the 13 MPs who support Shinde. He submitted that the remaining MPs accounted for only 27 percent of the vote share.
Kaul argued that the disqualification proceedings and the Election Commission's decision on the party symbol are two separate and independent processes, telling the court that their purpose and the issues considered in each differ. He referred to the Supreme Court's earlier ruling in the Subhash Desai case in support of this. Kaul made clear that there was no need to halt the Election Commission's proceedings while the disqualification case was pending.
Kaul also argued the case on the disqualification proceedings against the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde. He said the relevant disqualification cases had already been dismissed and there was no stay on that order. He pointed out to the court that while the Supreme Court had issued notice on the special leave petition, it had not stayed that order.
Kaul also stressed that the Election Commission has the constitutional authority to decide on the party and its election symbol. He said the Commission has the power to handle intra-party disputes and questions relating to the symbol under the Symbols Order.
The next hearing in the case will be held on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Political circles are watching closely to see what arguments both sides make and what observations the court records.
