Shiv Sena (UBT) split all but official as 6 MPs skip party meeting

5 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 18, 2026 03:07 PM IST

Meanwhile, Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut questioned the claims of legitimacy by the Eknath Shinde-led faction. (File Photo)

Only three Lok Sabha MPs, including Lok Sabha floor leader Arvind Sawant, chief whip Anil Desai, and Nashik MP Rajabhau Waje, turned up for Shiv Sena (UBT)’s parliamentary party meeting Thursday, making the split in the party virtually official. Sources said the party is now issuing show-cause notices to the rebel MPs for their absence.

The rebel MPs include Mumbai North East MP Sanjay Dina Patil, Dharashiv MP Omprakash Bhupalsingh Nimbalkar, Parbhani MP Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Yavatmal-Washim MP Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh, Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure, and Hingoli MP Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar.

While Patil, Wakchaure, and Ashtikar told the media Wednesday that they were not defecting, their absence from the 11 am meeting indicated they had joined the rebel camp. Sena (UBT) sources said the party had been particularly hopeful of retaining Patil and Ashtikar, especially the Hingoli MP, because his son is contesting the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections with the party’s backing.

The rebel MPs are learnt to have passed a resolution stating that they were leaving because the party had strayed from Balasaheb Thackeray’s principles and because of concerns that it could eventually merge with the Congress.

Explanation from rebel MPs

Sawant told The Indian Express that a show-cause notice will be issued to absent members, and further legal action will follow. “But ultimately, the electorate will teach MPs rebelling against Balasaheb Thackeray’s party a lesson,” he said.

After the Parliamentary Party meeting, Desai told reporters the party would formally seek an explanation from the absent MPs. “We will ask that since there was a whip that was issued to them, and since they said nothing about whether they are coming or not coming, so your absence is being seen in this way…”

The remarks indicate the party is considering disciplinary action against the absentee MPs. However, the final decision on recognition of any breakaway group will rest with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Story continues below this ad

The Sena (UBT) had issued a three-line whip directing all its Lok Sabha MPs to attend the meeting, warning that disciplinary action would follow non-compliance. The move came amid reports that two-thirds of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs were prepared to cross over in an attempt to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law.

The party has already met Speaker Birla and urged him not to recognise any breakaway faction. Sena (UBT) leaders argued that under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule, protection from disqualification is available only when at least two-thirds of members of the “original party” merge with another party, and the legislature party also supports such a merger by a two-thirds majority.

‘Shiv Sena is where Thackeray is’

Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut questioned the claims of legitimacy by the Eknath Shinde-led faction and asked when Shinde’s Sena had become the original Shiv Sena. Referring to the pending Supreme Court proceedings on the party split, he said, “Jahan Thackeray, wahan Shiv Sena (Shiv Sena is where Thackeray is).”

While addressing a press conference in Delhi along with Sawant, Raut said, “Today, our party’s Lok Sabha leader Arvind Sawant ji has issued a whip. He has given a whip to all our MPs today for an important meeting at our Parliament office in Delhi. There are some issues that need to be discussed. This is a three-line whip. So, today we will start our meeting at 11 am.”

Story continues below this ad

“I don’t know yet how many MPs have reached Delhi. But this is our party’s procedure, whether it is the parliamentary party or the legislative party. The process of delivering the whip to everyone’s house, putting it in their hands, emailing everyone, sending it on everyone’s WhatsApp, all this has been completed,” he added.

Raut also accused the ruling establishment of engineering defections.

“What kind of game is being played with democracy? You keep saying you will break this one, break that one. How many will you break? How much fun are you having? These ED and CBI threats, who are you threatening? Us? We have already gone to jail and come back. We are ready to go to jail again.”

“But I will teach you a lesson and then go to jail. You are tampering with the dignity of this country, the dignity of its democracy, its rules, and its Constitution. People get elected to our party after hard work. We work hard. Uddhav Thackeray works hard. And you people are kidnapping them, hijacking them. What kind of democracy is this?”

Arriving for the parliamentary party meeting, Raut struck a defiant note, telling reporters, “Jo aayenge wo hamare; jo nahin aayenge wo beimaan-ghaddaar (those who come are ours; those who don’t are dishonest and traitors).”

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers.

Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers.

He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More

Tags:

Eknath Shinde

Lok Sabha Speaker

shiv sena

Uddhav Thackeray