Mumbai:

The Election Commission today announced that neither of the Shiv Sena factions will be able to use the party’s ‘bow and arrow’ symbol until further notice. The decision comes four months after Eknath Shinde took away the Shiv Sena numbers in the Maharashtra assembly to replace Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister.

As per the poll body’s interim order, both groups will now have to choose new names. They shall be allotted different symbols, which they may choose from the list of free symbols available.

The order is a huge setback for the Uddhav Thackeray faction, which will now have to use a different name and symbol in the upcoming bye-election in Mumbai’s Andheri East. The Eknath Shinde group will not be contesting in the Andheri East bypoll.

Since the split in June, both factions have been accusing the other of tainting Bal Thackeray’s legacy.

At the big Dussehra meeting this week, Mr Shinde said: “Do you have any moral right to even stand and speak there? You used Shiv Sainiks for your personal reason and went ahead with Congress and NCP… Balasaheb Thackeray used to run the government on remote control and you gave this remote control to NCP”.

Mr Thackeray, who held another rally at the traditional venue of Shivaji Park, alleged that Mr Shinde was a “traitor” who is attempting to control the party out of “greed”.