AHMEDABAD: Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction is the "original" Shiv Sena and hoped it will succeed in getting the party's poll symbol- bow and arrow.
The Republican Party of India (A) chief also said the Shinde-Fadnavis combine will successfully run the Maharashtra government for the remaining term of two-and-a-half years.
Thereafter, the alliance between Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win up to 200 seats in the next Assembly elections in his home state.
"As many as 40 out of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs are with Eknath Shinde, and the Shiv Sena's poll symbol 'bow and arrow' should go to the Shinde faction. I am sure he will lay the claim for the symbol because he has more than two-thirds of MLAs with him," Athawale told reporters.
He said the original Shiv Sena belongs to Shinde as he hails Balasaheb Thackeray as his leader.
Shinde's rebellion with 39 Shiv Sena MLAs led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last month.
Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30 with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis as the deputy CM.
Athawale said though the Supreme Court is yet to decide on the issue, he believes that the faction with the largest number of MLAs (read the Shinde camp) can be officially recognised as the Shiv Sena.
"I feel both the court and the Election Commission will give the Shinde faction the status of the original Shiv Sena because he has such a large number of MLAs with him," he said.
Athawale dismissed reports that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had a hand in breaking up the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
He said the rebellion had roots in the internal dissatisfaction in Shiv Sena.
Speaking on the upcoming Gujarat elections, Athawale said the Patidar community will hopefully support the BJP in the polls against the backdrop of former Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel's crossover to the saffron camp.
He reiterated RPI (A)'s support for the Patidar community's demand for their inclusion in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) fold and reservation for Economically Weaker Sections.
The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment said the ministry is working on a proposal to provide the reservation for the "Ghumantu" community of nomads.
"They are OBCs but had failed to get any reservation benefits, and hence a commission has been set up to see whether the community can get the reservation separately.
Very soon, after the committee submits its report, a decision may be taken and the Ghumantu community may get a separate reservation in jobs and education," he said.
He said the Ghumantu community should get a reservation in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies on the lines of SCs and STs getting a political reservation.
He said the Centre's decision to grant a 10 per cent quota for EWS will benefit all castes as well as Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, and members of other communities.
"I would also like to tell the Muslim community that the BJP and the RPI are with you. PM Narendra Modiji has told us all to pay attention to the questions of minorities, and we will surely do so. Our government is not against anyone, and we believe in 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas, and Sabka Prayas'," he said.