Armed with name-symbol, CM Shinde group takes control of party office in Legislature

Mumbai, Feb 20 Four days after being declared as the real Shiv Sena and given its 'Bow-and-Arrow' symbol, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led entity's leaders moved into the party office in the Maharashtra Legislature.

Led by the Chief Whip Bharat Gogawale, the MLAs entered the Shiv Sena office premises for a special meeting ahead of the upcoming Budget Session starting here next week.

The Shinde group MLAs had met Speaker Rahul Narwekar and exchanged communication in the matter, seeking the allotment of the office.

The party is also eyeing the party office in Nagpur Vidhan Bhavan, the party head office Shivalaya in Mumbai, over 200-plus 'Shakhas' (branches) in Mumbai and rest of the state, the Shiv Sena offices in various civic bodies and other assets set up by the party in the past 56 years.

However, as per current indications, the Shinde group may not covet the iconic Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar, which continues to remain in the control of former CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Several of the legislators hailed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its verdict of Friday February 17 recognising it as the 'real' Shiv Sena against the claims of the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Thackeray.

The Thackeray group has Monday challenged the ECI ruling in the Supreme Court and sought a stay on its implementation till the pending case of MLAs disqualification is decided by the apex court, and the matter is likely to be heard on Tuesday.