The Shiv Sena’s (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party looked certain to lose two-thirds of its strength in the Lok Sabha after six of its nine members in the House defied the party whip and skipped a parliamentary unity meeting on Thursday.
The party issued show-cause notices to the six MPs, who separately wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla saying they feared merging the party with the Congress. In a four-page letter, the six MPs proposed forming a separate caucus, the Shiv Sena leader said. HT did not see this message.
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The rebels — Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Bhausaheb Wakchwar (Shirdi), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), Nagesh Patel Achtekar (Hingoli), Sanjay Dina Patel (North East Mumbai) and Umraji Nimbakar (Dharashiv) — are expected to merge with the Shiv Sena soon, the above-mentioned Shiv Sena leader said.
Things are expected to come to a head on Friday, which marks the 60th founding day of the Sena and will see separate functions led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
This is the third crisis in Maharashtra after vertical splits in the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party in 2022 and 2023. The developments come almost a week after 20 rebel Trinamool Congress lawmakers proposed merging with the little-known Indian National Citizens Party and backing the NDA, boosting the ruling coalition’s numbers in the Lok Sabha.
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The drama in Maharashtra began two days ago when some Sena (UBT) MPs stopped communicating with party leaders. Despite the whip, only three Lok Sabha MPs — Arvind Sawant (South Mumbai), Anil Desai (South Central Mumbai) and Rajabhau Waje (Nashik) — and the lone Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut, attended the Sena (UBT) meeting in Delhi. The Sena (UBT) had hoped that Sanjay Patel and Nimbakar, both of whom did not join Shinde when the party split in 2022, would attend the meeting but neither of them attended. Patel had said on Wednesday that he was with the Sena (UBT) but missed the meeting on Thursday.
“We are issuing notices seeking an explanation for their absence from today’s meeting. They must respond within seven days, after which we will explore legal options,” Sawant said after the hour-long meeting at the party’s Parliament office. Later, a notice was issued to the rebel MPs by Chief Whip Anil Desai, asking them to respond within seven days.
Six rebel deputies write to the president of the LS
Separately, all six MPs wrote to Birla on Wednesday, saying their rebellion was sparked by fear of the party merging with Congress, according to the Shiv Sena leader cited above.
In the four-page letter, the MPs said they do not trust their party, which has moved away from the ideology of its founder Bal Thackeray. The letter said that the Shiv Sena was not created to merge with the Congress.
The letter said that the MPs took seriously the proposal made by Raut to the Trinamool Congress to merge with the Congress. They expressed concerns that Sena (UBT) too would follow suit, adding that they had formed a separate group and intended to merge with Sena.
A senior Sena minister said that the six MPs met Birla on Wednesday morning in the presence of MP Shrikant Shinde and Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik.
The rebel MPs are scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla next week. One person familiar with the details said: “There is a possibility that a seventh deputy will also join the other six…”
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the rebel group was not bound by the whip issued by the party to attend the meeting. The person cited above said: “A parliamentary party meeting is not legislative business, within the House, and therefore the whip does not apply.”
The person went on to add that the Supreme Court has upheld that a lawmaker’s conduct within the House can be grounds for disqualification, especially when it comes to voting against party lines or if he renounces party membership.
Sena MP and spokesperson Naresh Maske said, “The Sena (UBT) MPs were demanding a meeting with party chief Uddhav Thackeray. They pleaded with the party’s parliamentary leader Arvind Sawant who did not care. The MPs felt that their party would be merged with the Congress and hence decided to form a separate group.”
If the merger goes through, the Sena’s strength in the Lok Sabha will rise to 13, making it the most senior NDA member from Maharashtra in the House.
The rebel MPs are also expected to meet Shinde in Mumbai ahead of the party’s foundation day celebrations on Friday. The aforementioned senior Shiv Sena minister said that the rebel group is likely to wait for Birla’s decision on their message before taking the next step.
The Sena (UBT) warned that the rebellious MPs would face strong protests from party workers. “Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has instructed that if any MP defects and joins another party, he should be trampled on the street,” Sawant said.
Raut alleged that the rebel MPs accepted large sums of money to change their loyalties. “They initially refused to board the chartered flight on Tuesday. They agreed only after receipt $He claimed Rs 15 crore advance.
“Are they really suggesting that the party founded by Bal Thackeray will merge with the Congress? By saying that, they are implying that Thackeray Sahib will give up his identity and legacy. This is ridiculous,” he added.
Minister of State and Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said Shinde would take a decision if the breakaway faction approached the party. “All rights are with Shinde Sahib. He will take a decision if the six MPs contact us,” he said. Shirsat also blamed Raut for using abusive language against the rebel MPs. “Instead of convincing them, Raut started abusing them and consequently they skipped the party meeting.”
In Yavatmal, party workers held a demonstration against MP Sanjay Deshmukh and burned a symbolic effigy. Similar demonstrations were reported in Darashiv, Shirdi, Parbhani and Hingoli. In Mumbai, police refused to allow a group of Sena workers (UBT) to protest outside the home of MP Sanjay Patel. There was tension in Bhandup district as Sena workers (UBT) and Patel supporters came face to face shouting slogans. The Maharashtra government provided security equivalent to Y Plus category to the six rebel MPs.
