Shiv Sena leadership and symbol dispute

The legal dispute over the leadership and election symbol of the Shiv Sena party has moved through the Supreme Court of India.

In September 2026, the Eknath Shinde-led faction defended the Election Commission of India’s authority to determine party leadership. Legal representatives argued that under Article 324, the Commission is empowered to examine a party’s actual organizational structure and cadre representation rather than merely adjudicating internal elections based on written constitutions.

By October 2026, the Supreme Court held hearings specifically addressing the dispute over the ‘bow and arrow’ election symbol. The court reviewed petitions from the Uddhav Thackeray faction challenging the Election Commission’s decision to award the symbol to the Shinde faction. During these proceedings, the bench raised questions regarding ‘constitutional morality’ and whether the Election Commission had the option to refuse the symbol to both factions. Counsel for the Shinde faction maintained that the decision was legally sound, citing that their legislative majority represented a significant percentage of the votes cast for the party in previous elections.

In mid-October 2026, political tensions escalated as the Shiv Sena (UBT) accused the central government of institutionalizing authoritarianism, specifically regarding the removal of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde accused the Congress and the INDIA bloc of conspiring with foreign forces to destabilize the country. Shinde criticized the opposition’s ‘March for Democracy’ to the Supreme Court, labeling it an ‘unprecedented attempt to pressure the judiciary’ and demanding an apology for actions he claimed undermine the Constitution.