Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ; ) is a

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

-based, Marathi regionalist,

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

formed in 2022 under the

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra,

Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to ...

. It was allotted a new symbol by the

Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

, separate from the main

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena ( IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a right-wing to far-right Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultranationalist political party in India founded in 1966 by cartoonist Bal Thackeray. Originally emerging from nativist movements in Bom ...

. It was one of two separate factions, the other being the

Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena The Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena () is a Hindu nationalist political party in India formed in 2022 under the leadership of Eknath Shinde. It was allotted a new symbol by the Election Commission, separate from the main Shiv Sena. It is now one o ...

, led by

Eknath Shinde Eknath Sambhaji Shinde (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, knaːt̪ʰ ʃin̪d̪e born 9 February 1964) is an Indian politician and president of Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, Shivsena serving as the 20th and Current List of chief ministers of Maha ...

, formed as a result of the

2022 Maharashtra political crisis The 2022 Maharashtra political crisis began on 21 June 2022 in the Indian state of Maharashtra when Eknath Shinde, along with several other MLAs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition moved to Surat in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP}-governed ...

, until the

recognised the faction led by Eknath Shinde as the legitimate structure of Shiv Sena in February 2023. Thackeray has filed petition against the decision of the ECI at the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in New Delhi.

Formation

The party was formed after a split in

as a result of the

. The split was caused by

, who staged a rebellion in the party, getting support of the majority of the MLAs of the Sena and later splitting from the group led by

, forming the Maharashtra government with the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

, in which Shinde got the post of chief minister whereas the BJP's

Devendra Fadnavis Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (Marathi pronunciation: ��ेवेंद्र फडणवीस born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 30 June 2022. He served as ...

became deputy chief minister. The two factions in the Sena later formed separate political parties, with the secular and progressive group, seeking to move further to the left, led by

forming Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) whereas the traditional and original Hindu nationalist faction of the Shiv Sena led by

formed the

ECI decision

On 17 February 2023,

Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body. It was established by the Constitution of India to conduct and regulate elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, di ...

recognised Eknath Shinde's faction as representing

officially. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader

has filed an appeal with the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

. Further, in its decision, the ECI allowed the party to keep its torch symbol until state assembly by polls.

Leaders

List of Rajya Sabha members

Electoral performance

In the 2022 Maharashtra gram panchayat polls, the MVA won 457 gram panchayat seats, out of which the

NCP NCP may refer to: Science and medicine * Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (a temporary name for COVID-19), an outbreak that was officially identified in late 2019. * HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7), a target of zinc finger inhibitors * Nucleosome ...

got 155 seats, while the SS (UBT) got 153 seats and the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

got 149 seats. The

NDA NDA may stand for: Military * National Defence Academy (India), a military academy in India * National Defence Act, legislation for organizing and funding Canada's military * National Defense Academy of Japan, a military academy in Japan * Nig ...

got 352 seats, out of which the

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

won 239 seats and the BSS won 113 seats.

References