Maharashtra Politics: Eknath Shinde faction gets new election symbol, EC allots 'shield and two swords'

The Election Commission on Tuesday allotted the 'symbol of two swords and shield' to the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena. A day earlier, the Election Commission had allotted the name 'Balasahechi Shiv Sena' to Eknath Shinde's faction. After the Election Commission allotted names to two factions of Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took to Twitter to share his views. In his tweet, Shinde said, "Finally the strong Hindutva ideas of Balasaheb Thackeray won.

Explaining the reason for not allotting Suraj as a symbol, the Election Commission said, "The name of the symbol is derived from the already reserved symbols 'Surya (without rays)' and 'Rising Suraj' from recognized political parties like 'Zoram'". The Commission has decided to declare two swords and a shield as an independent emblem.

While Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray faction was allotted a 'flaming torch' (torch) election symbol, his claim of 'trishul' was rejected citing religious connotation. The Election Commission also allotted 'Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' as the party name for the Thackeray faction. Meanwhile, the Election Commission rejected 'trishul' and 'mace' as election symbols, which were claimed by two factions of Shiv Sena citing their religious connotations.

Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 30 earlier this year. A faction of Shiv Sena, led by Shinde, shifted the alliance from MVA to Bharatiya Janata Party BJP. Since then, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra There is a tussle between the two factions over who is the real heir to Bal Thackeray's legacy.