Following the split in Shiv Sena (UBT) after six of its Lok Sabha MPs joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has called a meeting of party leaders at 5 PM on Wednesday.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai are set to meet the Speaker to present their faction’s position.
The Thackeray faction is expected to urge the Speaker not to grant recognition to the rebel MPs.
The development comes a day after six Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs, Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure, Omprakash Bhupalsingh Nimbalkar, Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh, and Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar, formally switched allegiance to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Monday, successfully executing what has been termed “Operation Tiger.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called for a “fight against traitors of Maharashtra.” Sharing a picture of himself holding a gun on X, Raut wrote, “Na thake kabhi pair, Na kabhi himmat haari hai. Ladna hai Maharashtra ke gaddaron ke khilaaf, Hausla hai buland, Safar jaari hai! Jai Maharashtra, Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji!”
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray stepped up his attacks on Eknath Shinde, repeatedly referring to him as “Fakenath Minde.”The defecting MPs have cited a fund crunch as the reason for joining the ruling camp. Separately, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske blamed Sanjay Raut for the party’s current crisis.
Mhaske said, “It is the result of Eknath Shinde’s hard work and the people’s faith in his leadership. The party is moving forward under his guidance, and that very trust is drawing people to us…Six MPs have already joined, and the remaining will also come over to us. I say this with full confidence because of the decline of the UBT faction.”
“Sanjay Raut is trying to take control of the party. Party workers, office bearers, and public representatives are frustrated by this kind of behaviour. His mental state has deteriorated. Given the party’s decline and considering that elected representatives reach their positions through hard work, if they receive no support from the party, they will naturally seek a different path.”
With the switch, the Lok Sabha numbers of the UBT faction have gone down to three from nine. While Eknath-Shinde-led Shiv Sena has gained significantly, increasing Lok Sabha seats to 13 from the previous 7, taking the NDA closer to its 2/3 majority milestone.
