There is a fierce internal struggle within the Shiv Sena (UBT) regarding the leaders' failure to provide a copy of the party's amended 2018 Constitution to the Election Commission of India (ECI). During Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's hearing of the disqualification application filed by Shiv Sena (UBT), he requested a copy of the Sena Constitution. However, what he received was a copy of the 1999 Constitution, available on the ECI website. Based on this, he declared Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as the authentic Shiv Sena.
What do the 1999 Constitution and 2018 amended Constitution say?
While the 1999 Constitution stipulated that the party chief would make major decisions in consultation with the national executive, the 2018 amended Constitution stated that the party chief's will was the will of the party. However, this amended Constitution was neither submitted to the ECI nor to the speaker.
As Uddhav Thackeray could not make important decisions, such as disqualifying MLAs, without consulting the national executive, as mandated by the 1999 Constitution, Narwekar rejected the application for the disqualification of Shinde and his MLAs.
Heated dispute within Thackeray faction: Sources
Sources indicate that after Narwekar handed down the verdict on Wednesday evening, there was a heated dispute within the Thackeray group about why the 2018 Constitution was not registered with the ECI.
It is reported that some leaders have directly raised questions about this with Uddhav Thackeray. Senior leaders, including Arvind Sawant, Sanjay Raut, and Subhash Desai, met Thackeray on Thursday to discuss this significant failure.
Shiv Sena (UBT) in talks with senior lawyers over SC appeal
Meanwhile, the party is in discussions with senior lawyers to finalise its appeal to the Supreme Court against Narwekar's order. The hope is that the apex court will reach a decision well before the elections are declared, ensuring that the appeal does not become ineffective.
