Overview

• Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction is the 'real Shiv Sena', and the MLAs of his camp cannot be disqualified.
• The decision is a major setback for Uddhav Thackeray, who does not have the power to remove Eknath Shinde from Shiv Sena.
• The disqualification petitions from both camps were dismissed by the Speaker.
• The decision implies that the whip issued by Shinde's faction stands, and the MLAs who supported Thackeray risk disqualification.
• The Election Commission had previously recognized the Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and gave it ownership of the bow and arrow election symbol of the undivided party.