After the Supreme Court’s go ahead to decide on the Shiv Sena rebel group’s plea seeking recognition of “real Shiv Sena” and allot the party’s election symbol to the group, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said the ECI follow the laid down process while deciding on the matter.
Mr. Kumar said that the ECI will apply the transparent process of the “rule of majority” while taking the decision on the plea of the breakaway faction.
Mr. Kumar made the remark while responding to a query in Gandhinagar where the top officials of the ECI reviewed the poll preparations for the Assembly elections of Gujarat.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde group’s has filed a plea in the ECI seeking recognition as the “real” Shiv Sena and allocation of the party’s bow-and-arrow poll symbol to it, a claim contested by the party supremo Udhdhav Thackeray.
According to Mr. Kumar, the poll watchdog has well laid down transparent process of the “rule of majority” in place and it is applied when dealing with such pleas.
“There is a set procedure which procedure mandates us and we define it in terms of a very transparent process by judging and applying the ‘rule of majority’. We will apply the ‘rule of majority’ whenever we are looking at it. This will be done after reading the exact decision (of SC),” the CEC said when asked about the apex court’s order.
Meanwhile, the ECI team held a series of meetings in Gandhinagar to review the preparations regarding conduct of the State Assembly elections in Gujarat.
The Commission officials including CEC Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey met the District Election Officers (DEO) of all 33 districts, Superintendent of Police (SP), range IG and DIGs and other law enforcement agencies to take stock of the measures for the smooth conduct of the polls.
When asked about the putative schedule of the Assembly polls, Mr. Kumar said that the commission will take the call after considering all the aspects like deployment of forces, observers, expenditure observers, situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors.
