If Shiv Sena MPs switch sides, will Uddhav Thackeray be able to stake claim to the party?

Uddhav Thackeray’s worries are surmounting. Shiv Sena lawmakers are likely to go the rebel MLAs' way, adding yet another blow to the faction led by the former Maharashtra chief minister.

Twelve out of the party’s 19 members of Parliament (MPs) are backing Eknath Shinde, the leader of the breakaway camp. They even attended a virtual meeting with Chief Minister Shinde. The MPs are likely to switch sides and a press conference is expected to be held in New Delhi about their possible move, according to a report in News18.com.

The 12 MPs reportedly in touch with Shinde are Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Sadashiv Lokhande, Hemant Godse, Hemant Patil, Rajendra Gavit, Sanjay Mandlik, Shrikant Shinde, Shrirang Barne, Rahul Shewale, Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, Krupal Tumane, and Bhavna Gawli. They are expected to form a separate group in the Lok Sabha and a formal letter about this development will be sent to Speaker Om Birla. The party has 18 MPs in Lok Sabha.

Big Blow to Uddhav Thackeray as 12 Shiv Sena MPs in Touch With Eknath Shinde, Likely to Cross Over: Sources https://t.co/muqgZaSWch

— Aman Sharma (@AmanKayamHai_) July 18, 2022

Shinde too is expected to be in Delhi, where he is likely to meet the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) senior leadership, making this his second visit to the Capital since becoming Maharashtra CM on 30 June.

Two ministerial berths for breakaway MPs

The BJP is likely to allot two ministerial berths at the Centre to the Shiv Sena MPs who are expected to join Team Shinde. MLA Deepak Kesarkar, the spokesperson for the Shinde camp, told The Times of India that all MPs who were backing the CM will meet the top BJP brass on Tuesday and discuss the party’s position in the Lok Sabha and the expansion of the Cabinet. “We are likely to get one Cabinet berth and one minister of state post at the Centre,” he told the newspaper, adding that this will be discussed in the meet between Shinde and the BJP.

“A decision has been taken to form the group and make Rahul Shewale its leader. There will be meetings with CM Shinde and MPs and then an official announcement would be made in the regard on Tuesday afternoon in Delhi,” a source said, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Three MPs of the Shiv Sena – Shrikant Shinde, who is the son of the CM, Bhavana Gawali, who was removed as chief whip of the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party earlier this month, and Kolhapur MP Sanjay Mandlik – are already said to have given their word to Shinde. Gawli is likely to be made the chief whip of this group.

Mandlik had said earlier that his workers had requested him to join the Shinde camp. While he said that Uddhav was like an elder brother, the views of the workers were important.

Gawli had written a letter to Uddhav Thackeray, seeking leniency against the rebel MLAs and urging him to mend bridges with the BJP. Shewale had requested support for NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu along with 11 other MPs.

Thackeray had announced that he had decided to support Murmu as she was a tribal woman candidate. However, with the threat of even MPs switching sides, the Sena president had no other choice. It was the only way to buy time and avert a split among the MPs.

Thackeray’s Sena keeps up the fight

Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut had warned MPs against attending any meeting with the Shinde faction, saying that the party would take legal action against them. “We think the Shiv Sena in LS is united. We have taken legal action against the MLAs who violated rules. Similarly, we will take action against the MPs,” he said, according to The Times of India.

Seven Sena MPs – five from the Lok Sabha and two from the Rajya Sabha – did not attend the meeting called by Shinde.

Meanwhile, Thackeray sacked several important leaders from the party for anti-party activities. Former minister Vijay Shivtare, MLA Santosh Bangar, the district chief of Hingoli, and Naresh Mhaske, the zilla pramukh (district chief) for Thane, were fired. Bangar and Mhaske have been reinstated in the Shinde faction.

Thackeray has also appointed more than 100 new office bearers in Thane, Palghar, Amravati and Yavatmal districts. The new office-bearers are second-rung leaders elevated to the vacant posts left by rebels, reports NDTV.

Shinde’s national executive

The Shinde faction has also appointed a new national executive, the party’s top decision-making body, making the Maharashtra CM its chief leader. This is a newly created post while the position of the Sena president which is held by Thackeray was left untouched.

The breakaway camp claims that the old executive, which includes Thackeray’s son Aaditya and Raut, stands dissolved. The group may move the Election Commission with resolutions passed by the “new national executive” to take claim to the Shiv Sena, reports ToI.

Leaders and deputy leaders of Sinde’s new national executive are all Sena rebels or those who have been sacked by Thackeray.

But Raut has questioned the legal validity of Shinde’s national executive. “This is Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and the party president is Uddhav Thackeray. It is a recognised political party. They may have a number of MLAs and MPs but how can they claim they are the Shiv Sena,” he said.

The fight in Supreme Court

Of the 55 MLAs belonging to the Shiv Sena, 53 are on the disqualification list of one of the two factions. Thackeray has claimed that 16 MLAs of the Shinde faction, including Shinde, should be disqualified. According to his side, the Shinde-led government is “illegal” until the top court decides on disqualifications. The rebels claim they are the real Sena since they have the support of more MLAs and now even MPs.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear several petitions by the two rival Sena camps.

The role of the EC

The Election Commission will examine the support each faction enjoys, both within the party’s organisation and its legislature wing. Then it will look at the top committees and decision-making bodies within the political party and the support of members for each faction. It also counts the number of lawmakers and legislators in each camp, reports The Indian Express.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction’s support is dwindling but he is not going to let go of the party started by his father. The fight is on.

With inputs from agencies

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