The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena camp lost its blue tick verification on Sunday, a day after the faction renamed the party handle as @ShivsenaUBT_.
The Thackeray faction has also renamed its media handle from @ShivsenaComms to @ShivsenaUBTComm. Following this, the handle too lost its blue tick verification.
This came after the Election Commission decided to allot the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Sena faction.
Other changes appeared on Shiv Sena's Wikipedia page too with the page showing 'Leadership: Eknath Shinde (chairperson).' Rahul Shewale is also shown as the Lok Sabha leader on the Wikipedia page.
The party's original website 'ShivSena.org' is also down, and according to the Thackeray faction, the website was changing. However, the official Facebook page of Shivsena still shows Uddhav Thackeray as the leader and its face.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction has already clarified that the names of the official Twitter and YouTube accounts were being changed to avoid confusion among the people. "We took the step to avoid confusion amongst the cadre as well as the public with the name, and hence, the step (changing the names) was taken. The blue tick has been removed by Twitter as per its norms, we have applied for the recertification and it will happen soon," a senior party leader told reporters.
The Supreme Court is likely to hear the pleas of the Thackarey faction against the EC for three consecutive days from Tuesday. Thackeray had earlier said that his faction would approach the Supreme Court against the Election Commission's decision.
Meanwhile, Thackeray lashed out at BJP and its leader Amit Shah on Sunday, referencing the hit dialogue from the Hindi movie 'Mr India.'
"Yesterday, someone (Amit Shah) came to Pune. He asked how things are going in Maharashtra. Then someone said it was a very good day, because the name and symbol of Shiv Sena were given to the slaves who came with us. So he (Mr Shah) said very well, 'Mogambo khush hua'," Mr Thackeray said at a public meeting in Mumbai.
He also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying when the Shiv Sainiks saved Mumbai during the serial blasts of 1993, the BJP did nothing.
"Those talking of Hindutva now, where were they? The address not known. Now they brag about a 56-inch chest. Where was that 56-inch chest then? He was sweating," he added.
