ECI Grants Shiv Sena (UBT) Approval to Accept Public Contributions

The Election Commission of India has accepted the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party's request to accept public contributions ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena was split in 2022 when Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with a majority of MLAs, left the party.

The party sought the Commission's certification to record its status for accepting voluntary public contributions. A delegation led by General Secretary Subhash Desai met with the Commission at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. The ECI, in a communication dated July 18, authorized the party to accept contributions voluntarily offered by any person or company, excluding government companies, in compliance with Section 29 B and Section 29C of the Representation of People Act, 1951.

The ECI noted that under Section 13 A of the IT Act, any income received by a political party from house property, other sources, capital gains, or voluntary contributions would not be included in the party’s total income for the previous year. This follows a precedent where the ECI allowed the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) to accept public donations ahead of state elections.

The Lok Sabha polls 2024 have invigorated the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) securing seven seats, the Congress 13, and the NCP-SP one, totaling 17 seats. Conversely, the BJP witnessed a decline, securing only nine seats compared to 23 in the 2019 polls, with a vote share of 26.18 percent. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)