SC to decide who is “Real” Shiv Sena & NCP? Final hearing set for 21 Jan

New Delhi: Two major questions that have been stirring Maharashtra politics will be answered in 2026. These questions are: Who is the real Shiv Sena and who is the real NCP? The Supreme Court has postponed the election symbol dispute between the two parties to a final hearing on January 21, 2026. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had approached the Supreme Court over the Election Commission's decision to officially recognize the Eknath Shinde group as the Shiv Sena and grant it the "bow and arrow" election symbol. On Wednesday (November 12, 2025), a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi of the Supreme Court postponed the matter until the next hearing. The Supreme Court bench also agreed to consider the petition filed by the NCP (Sharad Pawar) challenging the Election Commission's decision to grant the election symbol to the NCP (Ajit Pawar). The Supreme Court, recognizing that the issues involved in both cases were similar, agreed to hear them together. The bench stated that the matter would be heard on January 21, 2026. Justice Surya Kant also directed that no other urgent matters be listed the following day, allowing the hearing to continue on January 22 if necessary. Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Devadutt Kamat appeared for the Shiv Sena (UBT). Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and N.K. Kaul appeared for the other side. The Shiv Sena (UBT) petition criticized the Election Commission's decision to grant the party's name and election symbol to Eknath Shinde's faction. Following a political crisis within the Shiv Sena in 2022, the Election Commission issued an order in favor of the Shinde-led faction in February 2023. The Uddhav Thackeray faction contends that the Central Election Commission failed to meet the true test of determining majority within the party. Additionally, the Shinde faction's strength among elected MLAs was given greater prominence. The Supreme Court issued a notice directing the Uddhav faction to use the Shiv Sena (UBT) and burning torch election symbols while the matter is pending. Similarly, the Sharad Pawar faction challenged the Election Commission's decision to allot Ajit Pawar the clock symbol in February 2024. In this case, the Supreme Court granted an interim arrangement for the Sharad Pawar faction to use the man with a trumpet as its election symbol. Ajit Pawar was also instructed to campaign under the presumption that the clock symbol was pending in court.