Major Setback for Uddhav Thackeray Faction: 6 Rebel MPs Join Shiv Sena

Mumbai: Amid the ongoing political battle within Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray faction has suffered a major blow. Six rebel MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) have now joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The MPs who joined the Shinde camp include Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Patil-Ashtikar, and Omprakash Rajenimbalkar.

These MPs had not attended the Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary party meeting held in Delhi on June 17. Speculation about them switching parties had intensified following that event. Eknath Shinde himself announced that the MPs had joined his faction. On this occasion, he remarked, “Now I have three Sanjays.” He also recalled the rebellion of 2022.

At that time, 40 MLAs had rebelled and sided with Eknath Shinde. He stated that they have always fought to preserve Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology. “This is the second phase of the rebellion. All six of these MPs have joined the ‘real’ Shiv Sena. I have not just one, but six ‘tigers’ with me now; they have become part of the Shiv Sena family.”

Eknath Shinde said, “We have hit a sixer this time. We do not cross anyone’s path, but if someone tries to cross ours, Balasaheb Thackeray taught us to give a fitting reply.” He noted that while they had 40 MLAs initially, 60 were elected in the polls, adding, “We have strengthened Shiv Sena over the past two years.”

He further stated that they have remained steadfast in their Hindutva ideology, which is paramount to them. “Some people abandoned the ideology and betrayed the voters.” He assured that every effort would be made to address the demands of the newly joined MPs and complete development works in their constituencies. “There is no ‘master’ in this party; everyone is a colleague.”

Earlier, MLA Murji Patel remarked that Shiv Sena (UBT) had failed to keep its MPs together. Rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Omprakash Rajenimbalkar justified the decision to join the Shiv Sena on Sunday. He stated that if people are gravitating towards power, they are merely following a trend; opposition MPs are not being allocated development funds.