Will apply ‘rule of majority’, says CEC Rajiv Kumar on Shinde vs Uddhav case
Chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, said the Election Commission (EC) will be transparent and apply the ‘rule of majority’ to decide Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s petition staking claim over the “real” Shiv Sena and the party symbol.
The CEC said the poll body has a transparent process of the “rule of majority” in place and will apply the same when looking into the case.
“There is a set procedure. That procedure mandates us and we define it in terms of a very transparent process by judging and applying the rule of majority. We will apply the ‘rule of majority’ whenever we are looking at it. This will be done after reading the exact decision (of the Supreme Court),” Kumar said in response to a question on the Supreme Court’s order earlier in the day.
A team of ECI led by Kumar was in Gandhinagar to review poll preparedness regarding the upcoming Gujarati Assembly elections.
A constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud earlier in the day dismissed a plea by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s camp to restrain the poll body from adjudicating on the request by the Eknath Shinde camp.
The five-judge bench’s decision deals a blow to Uddhav Thackeray who had to resign on June 29 following a dramatic turn of events sparked off by a group of rebel Sena legislators led by Shinde. A day later, Eknath Shinde took over as chief minister post and proved his majority on the floor of the assembly with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The faction led by Shinde is supported by a majority of the party’s legislators.
On July 19, Eknath Shinde instituted the proceedings before the poll watchdog under para 15 of the 1968 Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order to seek recognition of his faction as the “real” Shiv Sena and allotting it the bow-and-arrow symbol. The panel had earlier issued notice to Uddhav but the exercise was paused on the Supreme Court’s verbal suggestion that the poll watchdog waits till the application is decided.
