Days after permitting the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar to accept funding contributions, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has also authorised the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) to accept voluntary contributions from the public.
Both parties have filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging ECI’s decision to grant their original symbol and party name to the rival factions. The issues are sub-judice.
In a July 18 communication, the ECI authorised the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to “accept any amount of contribution voluntarily offered to it by any person or company other than a government company” in compliance under Section 29B and Section 29C of the Representation of People Act, 1951, which governs the contribution to all political parties. This ensures a special exemption to political parties under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act.
The authorisation will stay in effect until the party’s symbol dispute petition – with the Eknath Shinde faction – is decided by the Supreme Court, the ECI has said. The party had requested the ECI to issue a communication/certificate recording the status of the party for the purpose of accepting voluntary contributions from the public.
