Ashish Ranjan
In response to the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to allot the Shiv Sena name and symbol to the Eknath Shinde faction, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut claimed on Sunday that the Eknath Shinde faction has “purchased” the party name and its ‘bow and arrow’ symbol for Rs 2000 crore.
In a tweet, Raut stated that the Rs 2000 crore contract was preliminary, which is entirely accurate. The Rajya Sabha member stated that his claim was supported by evidence that he would soon provide.As reported by the news agency PTI, he reportedly told reporters that a builder close to the current administration conveyed this information with him.
मुझे यकीन है…
चुनाव चिन्ह और नाम हासिल करने के लिए अब तक 2000 करोड़ के सौदे और लेन-देन हो चुके हैं…
यह प्रारंभिक आंकड़ा है और 100 फीसदी सच है..
जल्द ही कई बातों का खुलासा होगा.. देश के इतिहास में ऐसा कभी नहीं हुआ था.@ECISVEEP @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/qokcT3LkBC— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) February 19, 2023
However, MLA Sada Sarvankar of the camp led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde refuted the claim and questioned, “Is Sanjay Raut a cashier?”
The Election Commission recognised the breakaway led by Eknath Shinde as the legitimate Shiv Sena on Friday and assigned the ‘bow and arrow’ election symbol to it.
In a 78-page order about the protracted struggle for leadership of the organisation, the Election Commission let the Uddhav Thackeray group to retain the “flaming torch” election symbol until the conclusion of the state Assembly byelections.
Sunday, Raut stated that Rs 2,000 crore is not a modest sum to “buy” the name Shiv Sena.
He asserted, “The EC’s decision is a done thing.”
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The Shiv Sena severed its partnership with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the 2019 Assembly election results were announced, alleging that the BJP had broken a promise to share the position of chief minister with it.
Subsequently, Uddhav Thackeray paired up with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which lasted until Shinde’s rebellion in June of last year caused it to collapse.
