Uddhav Thackeray vs Eknath Shinde: A look at what we know so far on Maharashtra political crisis

As the Supreme Court is set to deliver its judgment on the Maharashtra political crisis today, . Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said the bench would be delivering two judgments tomorrow. The five-judge Constitution bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha was dealing with the issue related to Maharashtra political crisis.

The case pertains to on a batch of pleas including one seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs (of Shinde's party) who revolted against the Thackeray leadership.

The Split in Shiv Sena

Eknath Shinde and 39 MLAs had walked out and revolted against the leadership of the Shiv Sena, leading to a split in the party and the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, which was led by Uddhav Thackeray and also included the NCP and Congress.

Afterwards, Shinde formed a coalition government in Maharashtra with the BJP. On June 30, 2022, Shinde was appointed as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Devendra Fadnavis from the BJP was appointed as his deputy.

The Shinde and Thackeray factions of the Sena have been locked in a battle since then. After he was appointed as the new CM of Maharashtra, Shinde was put on floor test which he won in the Maharashtra legislative assembly with 164 votes polled in favour of him, 99 against.

In October 2022, the EC had allotted the flaming torch — mashal — as the election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction. The EC also allotted the name 'Shiv Sena — Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' to Uddhav's faction.

Later in February, the The Election Commission of India gave team Eknath Shinde the "bow and arrow" symbol and allowed to keep the name "Shiv Sena". Apart from this, the ECI awarded rival Uddhav Thackeray faction the name "Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray" and the "flaming torch" symbol.

SC case today:

The SC will pronouce its verdict on the disqualification of 16 'rebel Shiv Sena MLAs belonging to the current Maharashtra CM's faction. CM Shinde's job and government might be at stake when the SC announces the verdict. The top court will deliver the judgment on a plea seeking the disqualification of 16 MLAs of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. If Eknath Shinde is disqualified, then he will have to resign as Maharashtra Chief Minister and his government will be disbanded. Whichever side has greater numbers --- Eknath Shinde or Uddhav Thackeray --- the party will then stake claim to a new government. Hence, Shinde's job and government will be on line today.

During the hearing, Kapil Sibal argued that the call by Maharashtra Governor to call a trust vote was illegal, and whatever happened between the two factions of Shiv Sena was outside the legislature, not inside. He further submitted that the constitution does not recognize any faction whether there is a majority or minority.

Kapil Sibal also argued that a political party has primacy in the relationship between the legislature and the political party. The Shinde camp lawyers countered this point and said that the political party and legislative party are conjoined and connected and the argument made by Uddhav Thackeray camp that the other factions represent the legislative party and not a political party is a fallacy. Senior Advocate NK Kaul further submitted that dissent is the hallmark of democracy.

On 10 May, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that Eknath Shinde will continue to be the chief minister of Maharashtra and the next elections will be contested under his leadership. Queried on whether Shinde will step down from his post in the event of an adverse ruling regarding the disqualification of 16 MLAs of his camp, Fadnavis said this discussion has no meaning. "I am sorry to use the word but it is an arena of idiots. I am telling you that Eknath Shinde will remain the chief minister and we will contest the next elections under his leadership. “Why would Shinde submit his resignation? There is no need to indulge in any kind of speculation. What mistakes he had made?” Fadnavis asked.

Earlier in April, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government will collapse in the next 15-20 days. Raut, a prominent figure within the Shiv Sena (UBT) and a close associate of former CM Uddhav Thackeray, told reporters that his party was eagerly anticipating the court's ruling and remained optimistic that justice would be served.

After which, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asserted that elections could ‘happen at any time’ in the western state. “Elections can happen at any time, even today, we are prepared. The matter is in Supreme Court, and we are hoping that the verdict will be in our favour. After that, anything can happen at anytime," he asserted.