A split in Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Lok Sabha ranks appeared imminent on Thursday after six of the party's nine MPs skipped a parliamentary party meeting, fuelling speculation that they are preparing to join the ruling Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Only MPs Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting, along with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. The absence of the remaining six MPs. Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure, strengthened indications of a formal split.
Sources said the six MPs have signed a letter seeking a merger with the Shinde-led Sena and submitted it to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The process is yet to be completed, however, with the Speaker's office understood to have sought physical verification from some of the MPs. The verification of signatures is currently underway, sources said.
On Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) had issued a three-line whip directing all its Lok Sabha MPs to attend Thursday's meeting, a move seen as laying the groundwork for possible action against the dissidents.
Under the anti-defection law, at least six of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs would need to move together to avoid disqualification.
"Action will be taken against those who violate the whip after consulting the party chief (Uddhav Thackeray)," Sawant told reporters ahead of the meeting.
Leaders in the Shinde camp, however, questioned the validity of the whip, arguing that such directions carry anti-defection consequences only when issued in connection with proceedings of the House.
"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.
Sources said Shinde, who engineered the 2022 split in the undivided Shiv Sena that toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, arrived in Delhi late Tuesday and returned to Mumbai on Wednesday.
A day earlier, Sawant, Desai and Raut met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and urged him to ensure that no unlawful defection is permitted.
"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 PTI)
