Sharad Pawar says symbol freeze will not harm Sena, party will thrive

The Election Commission (EC) move to freeze Shiv Sena's bow and arrow symbol may have cause a stir in the political crisis, but NCP chief Sharad Pawar said in a party symbol, such, does not offer any benefit as it is ultimately up to people to decide whom to vote for.

According to the reports of TOI, speaking to the media at the Aurangabad airport, Pawar cited his own example and pointed out how he had contested polls with different party symbols. “The symbol when I contested my first election was bail-jodi (pair of bulls). For my second election, the symbol was cow and calf. My third election was with charkha (spinning wheel), while the fourth one was with panja (hand). Now my symbol is a clock,” he said.

“It is up to Uddhav Thackeray to decide on the new name", he added. When asked whether Sena would be wiped out after losing its party symbol, the NCP chief said, on the contrary, the party will thrive. “The power of the youth within Sena will increase with determination and strengthen the party,” he added further.

As per the TOI report, “The three parties will remain together and I don’t have any doubt that the parties will fight future polls together. For the upcoming Andheri (East) bypoll, Congress and NCP have extended support to Shiv Sena,” he said.