12 of 19 Shiv Sena MPs join Shinde faction, tell LS speaker to identify them as ‘separate group’

At least 8 of these 12 MPs had attended a meeting called by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray last week and some, expressing their unhappiness, asked him to ally with the BJP.

File photo of Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis | ANIFile photo of Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis | ANI

Mumbai: After a vertical split in the legislative division of the Shiv Sena last month, 12 of the party’s 19 MPs have now asked the Lok Sabha Speaker in a letter that they be identified as a “separate group”.

The 12 MPs, joining the party’s rebel faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, submitted the letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Tuesday morning.

Hemant Tukaram Godse, Shiv Sena’s MP from Nashik, told ThePrint, “Us, the 12 MPs, have given a letter to the Speaker to identify us as one group under the leadership of Rahul Shewale. Our chief whip will be Bhavana Gawali.”

At least eight of these 12 MPs now in the Shinde camp had attended a meeting called by Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray at his Mumbai residence, Matoshree, last week to discuss the party’s stand on the presidential election. The Shiv Sena has backed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Nationalist Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu in the election, saying she is a tribal and a woman, and deserves support going beyond politics.

The MPs who still support the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena include Gajanan Kirtikar, Vinayak Raut, Sanjay Jadhav, Arvind Sawant, Rajan Vichare, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Kalaben Delkar.

“Some of us had expressed our unhappiness to Uddhavsaheb and told him that we wished for the party to ally with the BJP,” said Godse.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday morning, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said, “The houses of some MPs in Maharashtra are being watched. All of a sudden, a lot of security has been placed in front of the houses of some MPs. Police strength, central forces and money are being used. There’s blackmailing involved. But it is okay. Jo hoga dekha jayega (we will deal with whatever happens).”

The break

Several MPs had told ThePrint last week that some of them had been holding meetings among themselves to strategise on how to get Thackeray to reconcile with Shinde and agree to an alliance with the BJP.

Last month, Shinde had rebelled against the state’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, led by Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister. He eventually got the support of 39 of the Shiv Sena’s 55 MLAs and formed the government with the BJP.

The MVA government comprised the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.

Shinde’s MP son, Shrikant Shinde, and Gawali were among the first parliamentarians to pledge their support to the Shinde faction, prompting Thackeray to remove Gawali from the position of the chief whip and appoint Vichare instead.

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)