While all eyes are on the east, where a crisis is brewing in the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, a potential rift is silently brewing on the western front as well, where a major opposition party is heading towards a second split.
Bengal dominated the headlines last week as a majority of TMC Lok Sabha MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, broke away from Mamata Banerjee.
However, while the opposition India bloc was suffering a major setback in Bengal, several Shiv Sena leaders affiliated with Eknath Shinde had already made attempts so that leaders of rival Uddhav factions could change sides.
Meanwhile, the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has intensified efforts to reach out to its party MPs over possible defections. Denying rumors of defection, the Shiv Sena (UBT) called Uddhav Thackeray a meeting of all its nine members in the Lok Sabha on Sunday.
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“Four MPs were physically present, while five joined online,” Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT) told reporters after the meeting at Thackeray’s residence, Matoshree.
Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Rajabhau Waze and Sanjay Patel attended the meeting in person, and Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakshor, Nagesh Baburao Patil Ashtekar and Sanjay Deshmukh attended it online.
Meetings and invitations fuel rumours
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Deshmukh on Monday met Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav, who belongs to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena party.
The meeting came days after Union Minister Pratap Jadhav of the Shiv Sena said it was only a matter of time before the Shiv Sena’s (UBT) MPs switch sides.
The Shiv Sena minister hinted at ‘Operation Tiger’, launched by Uddhav’s rival Eknath Shinde, to boost the party’s numbers in Parliament and within the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
However, in all this controversy, the number 6 plays the main role. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has 9 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
So the rival Sena camp needs at least two-thirds or six members of Parliament to switch sides in order to formally engineer a split in the parliamentary party and escape disqualification under the anti-defection law.
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The defection in Bengal was seen as attempts by the BJP to boost its numbers in Parliament, where the party does not have a majority of its own in the Lok Sabha. The increased numbers will help the party’s chances of passing key legislation in Parliament, which has been blocked or rejected due to insufficient numbers.
Shiv Sena says ‘our doors are open’
Days after Union Minister Pratap Jadhav took a swipe at Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who have changed their sides, another Sena leader, Pratap Sarnaik, said his party’s doors are open to anyone who believes in Eknath Shinde’s leadership.
Sarnaik, a Maharashtra minister, said on Tuesday that anyone who believes in the ideals of Sena founder Bal Thackeray and the leadership of his deputy CM Shinde are welcome, PTI reported.
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“If public representatives like MPs and MLAs do not trust their leadership, if they are willing to trust Eknath Shinde’s leadership, then the doors of the Shiv Sena are open for them,” he said, adding: “We will give them priority if they think about it (anytime) in the future.”
However, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders confirmed that all the party’s MPs are with Uddhav Thackeray.
This comes as several lawmakers from the Shiv Sena (UBT) camp met senior Shiv Sena and BJP leaders in recent weeks.
While Hingoli MP Nagesh Baburao Patil Ashtekar recently met Eknath Shinde, Nashik Waji MP met Shinde’s son. Earlier this year, Ashtekar and Sanjay Deshmukh attended a dinner hosted by Shiv Sena leader and Union Minister Pratap Jadhav, sparking speculation about a rift within the Sena (UBT).
