Shinde Set for Boost? Six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Skip Crucial Delhi Meet
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
New Delhi, June 18: Six of the nine Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) skipped a crucial parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, intensifying speculation that they may join the ruling Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde.
The MPs who did not attend the meeting were Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar, and Bhausaheb Wakchaure. According to PTI, sources said these MPs have already signed a letter seeking a merger with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and submitted it to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
However, the merger process is not yet complete. Sources said the Speaker's office requires some of the MPs to appear in person for verification. This process is expected to take place in the coming days, while verification of their signatures is currently underway.
Who Attended the Meeting?
Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, and Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting, along with the party's lone Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut.
The absence of the six MPs has strengthened reports of a possible split within the party's parliamentary wing.
Why This Meeting Was Important?
On Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) issued a three-line whip directing its MPs to attend the meeting at 11 am on Thursday. The move was aimed at paving the way for possible disqualification proceedings against the rebel leaders.
Shiv Sena (UBT) has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha and at least six will have to switch sides together to escape disqualification under the anti-defection law.
"Action will be taken against those who violate the whip after consulting the party chief (Uddhav Thackeray)," Sawant told reporters ahead of the meeting.
However, sources in the Shinde camp disputed the validity of the whip, saying it can be issued under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) only for House proceedings, not internal party meetings.
"The courts have repeatedly held that while a political party can issue internal directions (including for meetings) as a matter of organisational discipline, non-compliance with such a whip has no Tenth Schedule consequence unless it concerns voting in the House," a Shinde camp functionary said.
According to the sources, Shinde arrived in Delhi late on Tuesday and returned to Mumbai on Wednesday. He was the principal architect of the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022 that brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
On Wednesday, Sawant, Desai and Raut met Birla and urged him to guard against any unlawful defection.
"Under the law, one cannot simply merge with a party even if they have the support of two-thirds of the MPs. Only the original party can merge if a group has the required two-thirds strength," Desai had said.
(With Inputs from news agency PTI)
