Maharashtra Speaker gives verdict on Shiv Sena split: what was the case before him

The split

The seeds of the conflict were planted when the Uddhav Thackrey-led (united) Shiv Sena joined the Maha Vikas Aghadi government along with traditional rivals Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in 2019. While Uddhav became CM and Shiv Sena got a number of key ministries, many within the party felt that ditching the BJP for the MVA diluted the party’s identity and ideological position.

Things came to a head on June 21, 2022 when Eknath Shinde and a group of 34 Sena MLAs rebelled against Uddhav. Within hours, Uddhav’s side passed a resolution removing Shinde as leader of the party in the Maharashtra House, appointing Ajay Choudhari in his place. Sunil Prabhu was appointed as the party’s chief whip. At the same time, the Shinde group also passed a resolution affirming Shinde’s leadership and appointing Bharatshet Gogawale as the chief whip.

After being unable to placate Sena rebels, Uddhav resigned as Chief Minister on June 29 and his government fell. Shinde took oath as Maharashtra CM a day later, allied with the BJP.

Disqualification pleas before the speaker

The very first set of pleas were filed by the Uddhav faction two days after the Sena split, seeking the disqualification of Shinde and 15 other MLAs who allegedly ignored whips issued by Prabhu. Eventually, petitions would be filed for the disqualification of a total of 40 Shinde Sena MLAs.

However, the Shinde Sena claimed that its MLAs never received any such whip, and more importantly, that the split was borne out of legitimate grievances held by Sena supporters against the direction that the party took under Uddhav, and thus did not violate legislative rules inviting disqualification. It responded in kind, seeking the disqualification of 14 MLAs of the Uddhav faction instead.

Prabhu would challenge these petitions in the Supreme Court. He would also challenge the decision of the Maharashtra Governor to call for a trust vote, the swearing-in of Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister of the Government with BJP backing, and the appointment of Narwekar as new Maharashtra speaker. He had accepted the appointment of Gogawale and not Prabhu as Sena chief whip on July 3, 2022.

The Supreme Court weighs in

From June 2022, the Supreme Court began hearing a batch of petitions filed by leaders from the Thackeray and Shinde factions. In its verdict on May 11, 2023, the Supreme Court held that the Governor’s earlier decision to order the floor test for the MVA government as well as the Speaker’s decision to appoint Gogawale was incorrect.

With regards to the disqualifications, the SC ruled that Narwekar must rely upon the party’s original constitution. “The Speaker must consider the version of the party constitution which was submitted to the ECI with the consent of both factions. This will obviate a situation where both factions attempt to amend the constitution to serve their own ends,” the SC ruled.

Notably, the court told Narwekar to not decide based on which faction possesses the majority in the Assembly, and not as per the Election Commission of India’s interim order recognising the Shinde faction as a political party.

The Supreme Court also repeatedly pulled up Narwekar for not deciding on the petitions. It initially set a December 31 deadline, which was later extended to January 10.

Speaker backs Shinde, rejects both sets of disqualification petitions

Narwekar held that the 1999 constitution was the last relevant constitution submitted to ECI. “I hold that the Shinde faction was the real political party when the rival faction emerged on June 21, 2022,” Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled. “Shinde faction had an overwhelming majority of 37 of 55 MLAs when rival factions emerged,” he said.

Consequently, he rejected the disqualification petitions filed by Uddhav’s faction against the Shinde Sena. “There is a submission by the UBT faction that respondents from the Shinde faction deliberately remained absent in a meeting dated June 21, 2022. It will not be correct to say that Sunil Prabhu had any authority to call the said meeting. Petitioners’ submission that respondents from Shinde faction are liable to be disqualified due to non attendance is rejected,” Narwekar ruled.

However, he also dismissed the disqualification petitions against Shiv Sena (UBT) MLAs on procedural grounds. “Submissions by the Shinde faction that legislators from the UBT faction were liable to be disqualified cannot be accepted on the grounds that it is mere allegation and assertion that they had voluntarily given up membership of the party. No material was given to substantiate,” Narwekar said.

What this all means

Effectively, this means that the Shinde Sena gets further legitimacy as a political party, after the Election Commission also recognised it. While no MLA was eventually disqualified, Uddhav’s side is likely to take up the matter in court.

Politically, however, only time will tell how things will play out. While Shinde’s supporters are celebrating the Speaker’s decision, for the Uddhav faction, things might not be all too glum either. The decision only gives further ammunition to Uddhav and his supporters in their claims that the BJP is trying to “destroy the Shiv Sena.”

“It was BJP’s dream to finish Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena, but BJP can never do that. Today’s verdict is not a judgement but a conspiracy,” Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, reacting to the verdict.