Uddhav Thackeray Faction Faces Questions Over Rebel MLAs' Defection from Party

On the first day of the final hearing, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked a series of questions to the Uddhav Thackeray faction. During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Uddhav Thackeray, argued that Uddhav Thackeray had unanimously taken over the reins of the party after the death of its founder Balasaheb Thackeray in 2012. Eknath Shinde was working as his assistant. The rebel MLAs who defected have violated the party constitution and democratic processes in a planned manner. When asked by the court, Sibal gave details of the February 27 incident and the party's history. He said that the post of'party chief'was created in the party after 1999. Under the organisational changes made in 2013 and 2018, the appointments made through Article 11A were reported to the Election Commission. Shinde himself was part of the national executive. Despite this, the Election Commission has no record of voting rights in the Legislative Council after June 2022. Sibal said that voting rights in the Legislative Council are completely erroneous.