While the Uddhav Thackeray camp has been reeling from the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the faction led by Eknath Shinde as real Shiv Sena, the former seemed to have scored over the Maharashtra chief minister in the internet war. The website of Shiv Sena, with domain name shivsena.in, has been deleted and its Twitter profile name has been changed to ShivSena – Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. Since the Twitter handle was also changed, the account has lost its ‘blue tick’ that indicates a verified account. (Also Read | ‘Mogambo Khush Hua’: Uddhav taunts Amit Shah over EC order on Shiv Sena name, symbol)
Though the Shiv Sena website cannot be accessed, the link is still mentioned on the Twitter profile page of Shiv Sena UBT.
It is yet to be seen if the Shinde faction challenges this social media takeover in court.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) has started preparing on the legal battle ahead, with a team led by MP Anil Desai consulting legal experts on the best available options. On Monday, a petition challenging the ECI decision will be filed in the Supreme Court. As immediate relief, the Sena (UBT) is looking to get a stay on the ECI order by linking it with the petition before the Supreme Court regarding the disqualification of Shinde and 15 other rebel MLAs.
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena has already filed a caveat, demanding that it be heard before any order is passed on Thackeray’s plea. “We have done this because there is no one-sided decision and we must get a notice before hearing the matter,” said Shiv Sena secretary Kiran Pawaskar.
