In a significant political move, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has officially sanctioned the merger of six rebel MPs who had broken away from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to support Eknath Shinde’s faction. This decision means that the six MPs, previously aligned with Thackeray, are now officially part of Shinde’s Shiv Sena, dealing a blow to the Thackeray camp.
The rebel MPs from the Thackeray faction, including Omraje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, initially formed a separate group before merging with Shinde’s Shiv Sena. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has given his official approval to this merger, putting an end to the disqualification threat looming over these MPs.
Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde welcomed the decision, stating that it was made in the interest of development work in their constituencies. He emphasized that the rebel MPs joined his faction to advance local development and assured them of substantial allocation of development funds. The Thackeray faction, which had faced rebellion from the six MPs, had anticipated legal challenges but the official approval of the merger has now solidified the rebel MPs’ status within the Shinde faction.
