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SC seeks clear criteria to identify ‘real’ political party
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said rival factions cannot claim a political party’s name and election symbol based only on their strength among legislators. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said rival factions cannot claim a political party’s name and election symbol based only on their strength among legislators. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant said party constitutions, Election Commission guidelines or a statute should set out how a party’s majority is assessed. It made the observations while hearing the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s challenge to the Election Commission’s February 2023 decision recognising the Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and awarding it the bow-and-arrow symbol.
The court stressed that a political party and its legislative wing are distinct. The Election Commission is also deciding a dispute over the real Trinamool Congress. The Thackeray faction says the Commission ignored the Shiv Sena’s organisational structure and constitution.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy narrative that legislators alone can decide a party’s identity ignores the court’s own distinction between a party and its legislative wing. But the opposite claim, that elected representatives have no legitimate political agency, is also too broad. Any workable test must weigh office-bearers, members, organisational bodies and legislators through known rules, not shifting standards. The immediate test is whether the Supreme Court sets such a formula and whether the Election Commission applies it consistently in the TMC case.
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, hindustantimes.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
