Big political blow to Uddhav Thackeray, Lok Sabha Speaker approves merger of 6 rebel MPs into Shinde faction

A big development came to light in Maharashtra politics on Saturday. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla approved the merger of six rebel MPs from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) into Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. With this decision, the strength of Shinde faction in the Lok Sabha has further increased.

Knews Desk- Six out of nine Lok Sabha MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) had rebelled last month. On June 17, these MPs had submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking permission to recognize themselves as a separate group and join the Shinde faction. About a month later, the Lok Sabha Secretariat gave formal approval to their merger.

Why were MPs not stripped of their membership due to anti-defection law?

Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, if at least two-thirds of the MPs or MLAs of a party separate together and merge with another party, then the anti-defection law does not apply to them. Since 6 out of 9 MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction walked out together, which is equal to two-thirds of the number, there was no threat to his Lok Sabha membership.

Rebel MPs had made these allegations against Uddhav Thackeray

In a letter sent to the Speaker, the rebel MPs had claimed that under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, the party has deviated from its core ideology. He had alleged that some senior party leaders were working towards merging Shiv Sena with Congress. The MPs said that to save the identity and existence of Shiv Sena, they chose a different path.

Shinde group’s strength increased in Lok Sabha

After the merger of six MPs, the number of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MPs in the Lok Sabha has increased to 13. This is being considered a big success for the Shinde faction in Maharashtra politics.

What did Eknath Shinde say on ‘Operation Tiger’?

Reacting to this entire incident, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the leaders joining him are not coming under any pressure but because of trust. He said that in the last few years many public representatives have joined his Shiv Sena because they have faith in the party’s leadership and way of working. Shinde also said that his politics is to unite people, not to divide, and his priority is to give public representatives an opportunity to work better for the people of their area.