Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs meet Lok Sabha Speaker after serving Whip, want caveat letter to be followed
Parliamentarians from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT) met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday (June 17, 2026), soon after holding a
Parliamentarians from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT) met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday (June 17, 2026), soon after holding a press conference in New Delhi. “We went to request the Speaker to respect our caveat letter. We had sent the letter by email on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) night. But we personally went and met him today (Wednesday) to tell him that, in case any other group approaches him, he should hear us first,” Anil Desai, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, told The Hindu. There is speculation about a second rebellion striking the Shiv Sena (UBT). When asked if the party had approached the Supreme Court for relief, Mr. Desai said that a legal recourse was being mulled over, but only if the caveat letter was not considered by the Speaker. “When we met the Speaker, he told us that nobody else had met him yet, that nothing had reached him yet. We have full faith in the system. We hope no undue relief is given to them,” he said. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has nine Lok Sabha members. Of them, six appear likely to split. Sources in the Shiv Sena have claimed that they are set to join the party (Shiv Sena) at an event in Mumbai on June 19, 2026.
There has been speculation over ‘Operation Tiger’ in Maharashtra for quite some time now. It intensified when six out of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs failed to attend a meeting called by Uddhav Thackeray on June 14 at his residence ‘Matoshree’ in Mumbai. Party leader Sanjay Raut later told reporters that the absent parliamentarians had “taken an oath in the name of God to pledge their allegiance” to Mr. Thackeray. If the six leaders switched sides, the Shiv Sena (UBT) cadre would take matter into their own hands, and these MPs would have to “face the consequences”, Mr. Raut said. “What is the point of a democratically held election if this is going to happen?” Mr. Raut said, adding that the entire Opposition was frustrated. Such a development will effectively bring down the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s strength in Parliament from nine to three, and would in turn have a direct bearing on the strength of Indian Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc in the Lok Sabha, while increasing the Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) numbers. While the NDA enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha, sources in the Shiv Sena indicated that the ruling alliance aspired to secure the support of two-third of the MPs in the Lok Sabha. Desai claimed that even if two-thirds of the party’s MPs approached the Speaker, the Speaker would still have to consider the original party before allowing a merger.
The BriefWire