Six Shiv Sena MPs Seek Separate Group Ahead of Defection to Shinde Faction

Six of the nine Lok Sabha members of the Uddhav Thackeray‑led Shiv Sena (UBT) skipped a mandatory parliamentary party meeting in Delhi after a three‑line whip was issued. The absent MPs — Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure — have submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting recognition as a separate group in Parliament and signalling a merger with the Eknath Shinde‑led Shiv Sena faction.

The Uddhav faction has issued show‑cause notices to the six rebels and warned that disqualification under the anti‑defection law will be pursued if they do not respond within seven days. Party leaders Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant have announced legal action and heightened security around the MPs’ residences. The split is expected to be formalised around Shiv Sena’s 60th foundation day on June 19, with a possible merger ceremony slated for June 22.

The defection could bring the ruling NDA closer to the two‑thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments, though it remains short of that threshold. The episode underscores intra‑party rivalry and the strategic importance of parliamentary numbers ahead of upcoming legislative agendas.