MUMBAI, December 20: Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray was on Saturday `elected' as the party chief (Shiv-Sena-pramukh) for life. The organisational elections were held in deference to the Election Commission's directive.

The choice was made by Shiv Sena's `pratinidhi-sabha' (body of representatives akin to the national council) at its meeting at the Sena headquarters here.

The sabha also elected the party's 14-member national executive and 17 `up-netas' (deputy leaders).

The Election Commission (EC) had set December 24 as the deadline for the polls. Elections for all posts took place unopposed as there were no additional nominations for any post including that of the Shiv-Sena-pramukh.

"We are awaiting the commission's comments (on Saturday's exercise) and then we will decide about the future course of action," the party spokesman Subhash Desai, who was elected a member of the party's national executive said. Desai said the decision to hold the organisational polls "was taken in one of the meetings of the Sena leaders," but he was unable to give a specific date of the meeting when the decision was made.

A statement issued by the party, however, claimed that the decision to conduct organisational elections was taken by the party's `national executive', which, according to the same statement, was in fact elected by party's pratinidhi-sabha at its meeting on Saturday.

The statement was also silent about what constitues the pratinidhi-sabha and merely stated that it was attended by Sena leaders, deputy leaders, MPs, MLAs and district chiefs.

Asked to comment on the discrepancy, Desai said "the (body of) Sena leaders means the national executive."

Desai was also unable to comment on whether the party had issued a formal notice for the organisational polls and if yes, when.

Referring to the character of the Sena's organisational elections, Desai said, "The Election commission had never been specific about anything except its insistence on holding organisational polls." "We sought details from the commission about the exact provisions of law under which we should hold our organisational elections, but the commission merely reiterated its position without supplying the required information," Desai alleged.

"It is purely in deference to the commission and its directive that we conducted our organisational polls," Desai added.

It was also not clear whether the Sena amended its constitution to facilitate Saturday's inner-party elections, which, the Sena leaders including party supremo Bal Thackeray had asserted, did not provide for organisational polls.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.