Left with only 3 MPs post revolt, Sena UBT now risks losing office in Parliament
Shiv Sena (UBT), already grappling with the fallout of losing six of its Lok Sabha MPs to the rival Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, now faces
Shiv Sena (UBT), already grappling with the fallout of losing six of its Lok Sabha MPs to the rival Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, now faces another significant setback, with its allotted office in the Parliament House complex coming under threat due to the sharp reduction in its parliamentary strength. According to sources, once the Lok Sabha Speaker formally recognises the merger of the six rebel MPs with the ruling Shiv Sena faction, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will be left with only four members in the Lok Sabha. Read Full Story Under parliamentary norms, separate office space within the Parliament House complex is generally allotted only to parties with five or more MPs, putting the party’s existing office allocation at risk.
At present, the Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary party office functions from Room No. 128A in Samvidhan Sadan, the old Parliament House building. The office is located adjacent to Room No. 128, which had earlier been allotted to the undivided Shiv Sena before the party split. The anticipated fall in the party’s strength has now triggered uncertainty over whether it will be allowed to retain the office. The development marks yet another blow for Shiv Sena (UBT) after six of its nine Lok Sabha MPs formally joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena earlier this week, effectively splitting the Opposition party’s parliamentary unit. THE UDDHAV SENA REBELLION The rebellion had been building for days before becoming official. The six MPs had skipped a key parliamentary party meeting convened by Shiv Sena (UBT) in New Delhi on June 17, fuelling speculation of an imminent crossover.
Only three MPs attended that meeting. The MPs who crossed over are Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar and Omprakash Rajenimbalkar. Their move gave the rebel camp the numbers required to satisfy the two-thirds threshold under anti-defection provisions. Following the induction, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde projected the move as a major political endorsement of his leadership. "Not one, but six tigers are present here with me today. We have hit a six this time," he said, describing the development as a continuation of the political realignment that began with the 2022 Shiv Sena split. The latest defections are being viewed as another chapter in the prolonged battle for control over the Shiv Sena’s political legacy following the 2022 rebellion that led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and triggered legal and electoral disputes over the party’s identity.
The BriefWire