Shiv Sena (2022–present)


Shiv Sena is a conservative Hindutva political party in India, primarily based in the state of Maharashtra.
Formed by a split in 2022 of Shiv Sena, the party has been led by Eknath Shinde, who was recognised by the Election Commission of India as the leader of the original Shiv Sena. The Shinde-led faction retained the party's traditional name and the iconic bow and arrow symbol, and currently forms the government in Maharashtra in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party continues to position itself as the true ideological successor to Bal Thackeray’s legacy.

Formation

Shiv Sena was founded on 19 June 1966 by Bal Thackeray, initially as a movement to promote the interests of the Marathi people in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Over time, the party expanded its ideology to include Hindutva and Hindu nationalism.
Balasahebanchi Shivsena was formed after a split in the Shiv Sena party due to an uprising led by Eknath Shinde, who had the support of the majority of the party's MLAs. The split was caused by Shinde's disagreement with Uddhav Thackeray's decision to continue with the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, despite Shinde and the majority of the party's MLAs requesting a break from the coalition. The split led to both factions claiming ownership of Shiv Sena. The Election Commission intervened and asked both factions to come up with new party names until the issue was resolved, resulting in the formation of Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray formed his faction as Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Shinde subsequently filed a petition with the Election Commission of India staking his claim to the 'Shiv Sena' name and the Bow and Arrow symbol. The ECI ruled in favour of Shinde's faction based on the strength of its legislative wing, rather than on the organizational wing. Thackeray appealed against the decision, and the case is currently pending in the Supreme Court.
On 17 July 2025, the Republican Sena, led by Anandraj Ambedkar, and Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, formed a political alliance.

Headquarters

Shiva Sena's headquarters and main office is situated at Anand Dighe's house in Thane. Dighe was the mentor of Shiva Sena Mukhy neta Eknath Shinde. On 24 February 2023, the headquarters was founded, relocating from Shivsena Bhavan after Shinde split from the party; while Thackeray retained control over Shivsena Bhavan.

Electoral performance

The first face off between Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) was in 2022 Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Polls where Maha Vikas Aghadi won 257 gram panchayat seats while Mahayuti won 497 seats. The Shiv Sena won 53 seats and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena won 170 seats. The first major contest occurred in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, where the party rechristened as the Shiv Sena after being granted the symbol by the ECI secured 7 seats leading to a loss of 6 seats while Shiv Sena won 9 gaining 4, since the party had split. In the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election, the party won 57 seats, gaining 19 seats, nearly 3 times of SS UBT.