Thackeray’s party chief post expires on Monday; all eyes set on Election Commission

Uddhav Thackeray's tenure as Shiv Sena party chief will end on 23 January 2023, Monday. The Thackeray group of Shiv Sena has informed that the dispute over the party name and election symbol is currently ongoing in the Central Election Commission and the next strategy will be decided after the decision by the EC.

In 2018, Uddhav Thackeray was elected as party chief which ends on Monday. Meanwhile, due to Eknath Shinde's rebellion, the dispute of Shiv Sena is being discussed at the Central Election Commission. On January 30, there is a hearing for the same. The decision of the commission can be taken at any moment after that. In this regard, MP Anil Desai said, "We have requested the Commission to extend the tenure of Thackeray's party chief and allow elections to be held within the party." Whatever the decision of the commission, Uddhav Thackeray is our party leader, said Shiv Sena leader Adv. Anil Parab said.

The Shinde group has claimed that Thackeray's election as party chief is illegal. But in the same way, Shinde has also been elected as the chief leader. The Thackeray group has raised the issue that this post does not exist in the party constitution. The Thackeray group has also argued that the Election Commission should consider the strength of the MLAs and members of the Rajya Sabha. 

On the occasion of Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray's birth anniversary, the Thackeray group will conduct a meeting at Shanmukhanand Hall on Monday. This time, senior leaders said that Uddhav Thackeray will guide the fight against the BJP and the Shinde faction. Considering the upcoming local body elections, Thackeray has started discussions about an alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. MP Sanjay Raut said that some direction is likely to be clarified in this regard.