Numbers are in our favour: CM Shinde on eve of Speaker's ruling

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said numbers were stacked in favour of the Shiv Sena led by him as assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar is set to give ruling on disqualification petitions filed by the two warring Sena factions.

Even the Election Commission has recognised that the majority of Shiv Sena lawmakers were with his faction, Shinde told reporters here.

"Numbers are important in democracy. We have a majority in the assembly and Lok Sabha. The Election Commission has allotted the official name and symbol to our party. I am confident and I hope that the decision would be based on merit," he said.

In June 2022, Shinde and dozens of other Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled against then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, leading to a split in the Sena and fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government. The Thackeray and Shinde factions then filed petitions against each other's legislators, seeking disqualification under the anti-defection law.

Of 56 MLAs of the undivided Shiv Sena, 40 are with Shinde.