Uddhav Thackeray Challenges Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Speaker for Public Debate Over Real Shiv Sena Status

Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), extended a challenge to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar for a public debate with him on which faction is the real Shiv Sena.

I am taking this battle to the people’s court, a combative Thackeray said at a press conference here. If he was not the Shiv Sena chief, why did the BJP seek his support in 2014 and 2019 after Lok Sabha elections, he asked.

This battle (between his party and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena) would decide whether democracy will prevail in the country, Thackeray, a former chief minister, added. 

In a highly anticipated decision on January 10, Narwekar ruled that the Shinde faction is the real Sena, concurrently rejecting disqualification petitions submitted by the Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other's legislators in the aftermath of the party's June 2022 internal division.

Narwekar justified his decision not to accept the undivided Shiv Sena's amended constitution of 2018, arguing that it was not submitted to the Election Commission. He held that the Sena's 1999 constitution was valid for determining the genuine faction. Additionally, Narwekar defended his choice not to disqualify Thackeray faction MLAs, citing improper delivery of the whip.