Two of the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs on Sunday formally announced their decision to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, dealing a blow to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and potentially paving the way for four more defections.
While Darashiv MP Umraji Nimbalkar’s decision comes days after he indicated that he would receive a phone call following the verdict in the murder case of his father, Pawanraj Nimbalkar, Hingoli MP Nagesh Ashtekar announced his defection live on Facebook.
On Saturday, the sessions court acquitted all the accused in the Pawanraj Nimbalkar murder case, after which Sena (UBT) chief Thackeray made a last-ditch attempt to convince Omraj Nimbalkar to stay within the party.
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After criticizing Nimbalkar and five other MPs on Friday, Thackeray sent Darashiv MP Kailas Patel, who is close to Nimbalkar, and MLA Varun Sardesai to inform him that the recent differences should be forgotten and they should work together.
However, Nepalkar expressed his displeasure over the statements made against him by Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and other leaders. He told the MLAs that he had no complaint against Thackeray and was considering Shinde’s offer due to political motives, but had not taken a final decision.
Nepalkar’s decision to remain with Thackeray’s faction could have prevented the other five MPs from meeting the two-thirds requirement needed to form a separate group or join another party. However, Nepalkar did not make any commitment and traveled to Darashiv on Sunday evening along with Shinde faction leaders.
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After arriving in his village, Gordhan Wadi, Nepalkar held a closed-door meeting with local leaders. One of the leaders present at the meeting said Nepalkar told them that it was no longer possible for the opposition side to fight against murder accused Padamasinh Patel and his son, BJP leader Ranajajjitsinha Patel, as they were receiving support from the ruling BJP.
“For political survival, we need power and we also need to give power to party workers,” he said. “We need the strength that the ruling side can give us. Just support me in my decision…”
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After the meeting, Nepalkar announced his decision to join the Shiv Sena. “I am not joining Deputy Prime Minister Shinde out of greed for power and money but for political survival and constituency-related issues,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ashtekar also announced that he will join the Shiv Sena on Sunday evening. In a Facebook live broadcast, Ashtekar said it was difficult to carry out development work in his constituency while he was in the opposition.
“Being in the opposition, we suffer from a lack of funds and approval for the work we are proposing,” he said.
A Sena leader said that the official announcement of the MPs joining the Shiv Sena will be made within a day or two after completing the required procedures.
