{"id":1533,"date":"2025-11-12T18:53:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/?p=1533"},"modified":"2025-11-12T18:58:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:28:47","slug":"sc-sets-january-21-for-final-hearing-on-shiv-sena-symbol-row-uddhav-vs-shinde-battle-nears-climax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/sc-sets-january-21-for-final-hearing-on-shiv-sena-symbol-row-uddhav-vs-shinde-battle-nears-climax\/","title":{"rendered":"SC Sets January 21 for Final Hearing on Shiv Sena Symbol Row: Uddhav vs Shinde Battle Nears Climax"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SC Sets January 21 for Final Hearing on Shiv Sena Symbol Row: Uddhav vs Shinde Battle Nears Climax<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Supreme Court of India to begin final hearing on the Shiv Sena\u2019s \u2018Bow and Arrow\u2019 symbol dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions on January 21, 2026.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Supreme Court will also hear the NCP faction dispute the following day as both cases involve overlapping issues of party identity and legislative majority.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Delhi | Undercover Editor News agency | November 12, 2025:<\/strong>
The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed January 21, 2026,<\/strong> for the final hearing on petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction <\/strong>of the Shiv Sena challenging the Election Commission\u2019s February 2023<\/strong> order that allotted the iconic \u2018bow and arrow\u2019<\/strong> symbol to the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi<\/strong> announced that the court will dedicate three hours each<\/strong> to hear arguments from both factions in the much-awaited political and legal showdown that could redefine the future of Maharashtra\u2019s dominant regional party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bench further informed that it will take up a similar dispute involving the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)<\/strong> the very next day, on January 22,<\/strong> given that both matters revolve around the core question of who represents the \u201creal\u201d political party<\/strong> after a split.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uddhav Camp Seeks Urgent Hearing Amid Local Polls<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat,<\/strong> representing the Uddhav Thackeray faction<\/strong>, urged the court to expedite the hearing, citing the upcoming local body elections<\/strong> in Maharashtra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice Surya Kant, however, remarked wryly that political parties in India are \u201calways in election mode,\u201d whether for national, state, or local contests \u2014 signaling the court\u2019s intention to proceed in a structured manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi<\/strong> and Neeraj Kishan Kaul<\/strong> appeared for the Shinde faction,<\/strong> defending the Election Commission\u2019s decision that recognized their camp as the legitimate Shiv Sena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long-Pending Case Nears Closure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The matter has been lingering since February 17, 2023,<\/strong> when the Election Commission of India (ECI)<\/strong> ruled in favor of the Shinde-led group, granting it the \u2018Shiv Sena\u2019 name and symbol<\/strong> after the 2022 rebellion that toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)<\/strong> government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2024,<\/strong> the Supreme Court had emphasized that the dispute cannot remain unresolved indefinitely, noting the need for finality before major elections in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Uddhav Thackeray faction <\/strong>argues that the ECI\u2019s reliance on legislative majority<\/strong>\u2014rather than organizational strength and ideological continuity<\/strong>\u2014violates the principles outlined in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Thackeray camp also contends that Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar\u2019s decision<\/strong> to hand over the party name and symbol to the Shinde group was contrary to the Supreme Court\u2019s own Constitution Bench verdict<\/strong> on defections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political Stakes High in Maharashtra<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruling by the Speaker earlier this year had fortified Eknath Shinde\u2019s position<\/strong> as Chief Minister, with the BJP and NCP (Ajit Pawar group)<\/strong> forming the coalition government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,<\/strong> the Shinde-led Shiv Sena <\/strong>secured 7 seats,<\/strong> while in the Maharashtra Assembly elections,<\/strong> the BJP won 132, Shinde\u2019s Sena 57, and Ajit Pawar\u2019s NCP 41<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By December 2024, Devendra Fadnavis<\/strong> returned as Maharashtra\u2019s Chief Minister, with Shinde and Pawar <\/strong>serving as his deputies \u2014 cementing the Mahayuti alliance\u2019s dominance in state politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upcoming Supreme Court verdict, therefore, is poised to not only decide the symbol and identity<\/strong> of the Shiv Sena but also reshape Maharashtra\u2019s political balance<\/strong> ahead of the 2025 civic body polls<\/strong> and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Final hearing date: <\/strong>January 21, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Bench: Justices <\/strong>Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Hearing duration:<\/strong> 3 hours per faction<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Next day (Jan 22):<\/strong> NCP faction dispute hearing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Core issue:<\/strong> Legitimacy of party representation post-split<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Political impact:<\/strong> Could alter Maharashtra\u2019s ruling alliance dynamics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    SC Sets January 21 for Final Hearing on Shiv Sena Symbol Row: Uddhav vs Shinde Battle Nears Climax Supreme Court of India to begin final hearing on the Shiv Sena\u2019s \u2018Bow and Arrow\u2019 symbol dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions on January 21, 2026. The Supreme Court will also hear the NCP faction dispute the following day as both cases involve overlapping issues of party identity and legislative majority. New Delhi | Undercover Editor News agency | November 12, 2025:The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed January 21, 2026, for the final hearing on petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena challenging the Election Commission\u2019s February 2023 order that allotted the iconic \u2018bow and arrow\u2019 symbol to the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi announced that the court will dedicate three hours each to hear arguments from both factions in the much-awaited political and legal showdown that could redefine the future of Maharashtra\u2019s dominant regional party. The Bench further informed that it will take up a similar dispute involving the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) the very next day, on January 22, given that both matters revolve around the core question of who represents the \u201creal\u201d political party after a split. Uddhav Camp Seeks Urgent Hearing Amid Local Polls Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, representing the Uddhav Thackeray faction, urged the court to expedite the hearing, citing the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra. Justice Surya Kant, however, remarked wryly that political parties in India are \u201calways in election mode,\u201d whether for national, state, or local contests \u2014 signaling the court\u2019s intention to proceed in a structured manner. On the other hand, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared for the Shinde faction, defending the Election Commission\u2019s decision that recognized their camp as the legitimate Shiv Sena. Long-Pending Case Nears Closure The matter has been lingering since February 17, 2023, when the Election Commission of India (ECI) ruled in favor of the Shinde-led group, granting it the \u2018Shiv Sena\u2019 name and symbol after the 2022 rebellion that toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. In July 2024, the Supreme Court had emphasized that the dispute cannot remain unresolved indefinitely, noting the need for finality before major elections in the state. The Uddhav Thackeray faction argues that the ECI\u2019s reliance on legislative majority\u2014rather than organizational strength and ideological continuity\u2014violates the principles outlined in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The Thackeray camp also contends that Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar\u2019s decision to hand over the party name and symbol to the Shinde group was contrary to the Supreme Court\u2019s own Constitution Bench verdict on defections. Political Stakes High in Maharashtra The ruling by the Speaker earlier this year had fortified Eknath Shinde\u2019s position as Chief Minister, with the BJP and NCP (Ajit Pawar group) forming the coalition government. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured 7 seats, while in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP won 132, Shinde\u2019s Sena 57, and Ajit Pawar\u2019s NCP 41 By December 2024, Devendra Fadnavis returned as Maharashtra\u2019s Chief Minister, with Shinde and Pawar serving as his deputies \u2014 cementing the Mahayuti alliance\u2019s dominance in state politics. The upcoming Supreme Court verdict, therefore, is poised to not only decide the symbol and identity of the Shiv Sena but also reshape Maharashtra\u2019s political balance ahead of the 2025 civic body polls and beyond. Summary<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[178,180,81,176,179,177,85],"class_list":["post-1533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-civic-political-news","tag-eknathshinde","tag-maharashtrapolitical","tag-mumbai-news","tag-shivsena","tag-supremecourt","tag-uddhav-thackeray","tag-undercovereditor-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1533"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1538,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions\/1538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}