Six rebel Lok Sabha MPs from the Shiv Sena (UBT) have joined the ruling Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, deepening the crisis within the party headed by Uddhav Thackeray and formalising a split in its parliamentary ranks.
The lawmakers joined Shinde's party at an event in Mumbai on Monday, five days after skipping a key Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi. Only three of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs attended that meeting.
Speaking to reporters, Shinde portrayed the move as a continuation of his 2022 rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray, which split the Shiv Sena and eventually led to him becoming chief minister.
"These Lok Sabha members have now joined the original Shiv Sena that follows the teachings of late Balasaheb Thackeray. Four years back I took a strong step and now I have hit a sixer (a reference to the number of MPs who have switched loyalties)," he said.
"I did it earlier (split Shiv Sena in June 2022) to save the principles of late Balasaheb Thackeray and to save the Shiv Sena. Now, this move (rebellion in the Lok Sabha wing of the Sena UBT) is the second stage of Shiv Sena expansion," Shinde asserted.
"Operation Tiger" is now complete and successful, the Deputy CM declared.
The six MPs who switched sides are Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal, Sanjay Jadhav from Parbhani, Sanjay Dina Patil from Mumbai North East, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar from Hingoli, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar from Dharashiv and Bhausaheb Wakchaure from Shirdi.
All six had won their seats in the 2024 general election, defeating candidates from the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
The defections reduce Uddhav Thackeray's party presence in the Lok Sabha and represent the most significant parliamentary setback for the Shiv Sena (UBT) since the 2022 split that reshaped Maharashtra politics.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) had won nine Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the 2024 general election.
