Shiv Sena UBT crisis: Uddhav offers to step down as chief; will his party and Congress merge? Ex Maharashtra CM answers

Published 20 June 2026 · politics

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday that he would resign from his post if any allegations against him were proven, while asserting

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday that he would resign from his post if any allegations against him were proven, while asserting that he would never allow the Shiv Sena to be “handed over to any thief.” He dismissed allegations attributed to six rebel MPs claiming they feared the party could merge with the Congress, and maintained that the unified Shiv Sena has always stood for Hindutva and the sons of the soil ideology. In his first remarks on the party’s looming split for the second time in four years, he mentioned on Friday that the Shiv Sena was never founded with the intention of merging with any other party. Speaking to party workers on the Shiv Sena’s 60th foundation day, Thackeray strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. He also accused the BJP of eroding public trust in democracy through its political approach. Amid ongoing allegations and political developments, Thackeray reaffirmed that the Shiv Sena would remain independent and would not merge with the Congress.

“Today is the 60th foundation day of Shiv Sena. People might have thought I would see a broken Shiv Sainik, but none of them is like that. These four MPs and all the MLAs have come today. The suffering of everyone is visible today. Judging by elections is meaningless. They say Shiv Sena will merge with Congress. I have been with Shiv Sena since the beginning and have seen it very closely. Now the time has come for Operation Lotus,” Thackeray stated, according to ANI. "They are winning elections by doing whatever they want. You think Shiv Sena will merge with Congress, it won't. If the allegations being made against me are true, then I will leave my post, but I will not hand over Shiv Sena to any thief; you all should answer those who are doing this to me," he added. “It was created to fight for the rights of Marathi people and protect Hindutva,” he said while addressing a gathering of Shiv Sena (UBT) workers on the 60th foundation day of the united Shiv Sena, founded by his father, late Bal Thackeray.

'Shiv Sena was not born to merge with anyone' He hit out at the rebel MPs for suggesting that Shiv Sena (UBT) might merge with the Congress. “If we didn't merge with the BJP despite being an ally for 30 years, how can we merge with the Congress. I fear the Maharashtra BJP might merge with the Shinde Sena,” he remarked. He said that although the Shiv Sena has had serious political differences with the Congress, it has never attempted to weaken or destroy the party in the way he alleged the BJP is doing. Defying a party whip, six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs skipped an important parliamentary party meeting held in New Delhi on Thursday. The MPs who did not attend the meeting include Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure, as per PTI. The former chief minister also apologised to voters for electing these MPs, saying they now appear likely to switch sides. “The Shiv Sena was not born to merge with anyone.