Supreme Court seeks formula to identify political party in faction fights

The Story in Brief

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said clear criteria are needed to decide which faction represents a political party when rival groups claim its name and symbol. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant made the observations while hearing Uddhav Thackeray’s challenge to the Election Commission’s February 2023 decision recognising Eknath Shinde’s faction as the real Shiv Sena and awarding it the bow-and-arrow symbol.

The bench said party constitutions, office-bearers, primary members, organisational wings and elected representatives may all need consideration, rather than a simple count of legislators. It also stressed that a political party is distinct from its legislative wing. The issue matters as the Election Commission considers a separate dispute over the Trinamool Congress.

The Indian Opinion

The lazy claim that the largest group of legislators automatically is the real party ignores how parties are organised. But the opposite claim, that office-bearers alone can overrule every elected representative, is just as one-sided. A workable test must respect party rules while allowing legislators some room for political decisions, as the court noted. The practical measure will be whether future rulings apply the same formula to Shiv Sena and TMC disputes.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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