In a significant setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT), only three of its nine Lok Sabha MPs attended a crucial party meeting convened after the issuance of a whip. The meeting was called to discuss party strategy and adherence to the whip, which is binding under the Anti-Defection Law.
Show-Cause Notices to Absent MPs
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Desai announced that the party would issue show-cause notices to the six MPs who were absent. Desai, along with Arvind Sawant and another party MP, attended the meeting. However, Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East), Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure (Shirdi), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), and Om Prakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv) did not attend.
Rebel MPs Seek Merger Recognition
The six absent MPs, who constitute two-thirds of the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Lok Sabha strength, have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition of their merger with the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde. The Shinde faction is part of the BJP-led NDA. In their four-page letter to the Speaker, the MPs expressed fears that Uddhav Thackeray could align with the Congress, which they claimed would amount to a departure from the ideology of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
The letter states that the rebel MPs have no faith in the current leadership of the party. They also cited remarks attributed to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut regarding opposition unity as one of the reasons for their decision. The rebel MPs, who have shifted allegiance to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, maintain that they have merged with the original Shiv Sena and are not functioning as a separate group. They argue that since they constitute two-thirds of the parliamentary party’s strength, they are protected from disqualification under the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law relating to mergers.
