On 17 February 2023, the ECI granted this party, 'Bow and Arrow' symbol and party name 'Shiv Sena', in favor of their faction in the dispute.[9]Uddhav Thackeray filed a petition against the decision at Supreme Court, expressing his feeling that the ECI decision was wrong, the case is ongoing.[10]
Formation
Balasahebanchi Shivsena was formed after a split in the Shiv Sena party due to an uprising led by Eknath Shinde, who had the support of the majority of the party's MLAs. The split was caused by Shinde's disagreement with Uddhav Thackeray's decision to continue with the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, despite Shinde and the majority of the party's MLAs requesting a break from the coalition. The split led to both factions claiming ownership of Shiv Sena. The Election Commission intervened and asked both factions to come up with new party names until the issue was resolved, resulting in the formation of Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray formed his faction as Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).[11]
Headquarters
Shiva Sena's headquarters and main office is situated at Anand Dighe's house in Thane. Dighe was the mentor of Shiva Sena Mukhy neta (Main leader) Eknath Shinde. On 24 February 2023, the headquarters was founded, relocating from Shivsena Bhavan after Shinde split from the party;[12] while Thackeray retained control over Shivsena Bhavan.
Activities
On 14 February 2022 and 2023, Shiv Sena workers in Madhya Pradesh indulged in moral policing by threatening couples if they were found to be celebrating Valentines Day. In response, police officials issued a warning not to break the law.[13] As a precaution, police personnel were deployed in plain clothes across places like restaurants and malls to prevent any incidents of violence.[14]
The first face off between Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) was in 2022 Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Polls where Maha Vikas Aghadi won 257 gram panchayat seats while Mahayuti won 497 seats. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) won 53 seats and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena won 170 seats.[16] The first major contest occurred in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, where the party rechristened as the the Shiv Sena after being granted the symbol by the ECI secured 7 seats leading to a loss of 6 seats while Shiv Sena (UBT) won 9 gaining 4, since the party had split.
