Those six are Shinde loyalists… A shock to Uddhav Thackeray

The Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray has suffered a major setback. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has recognized the merger of six dissident MPs into the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. With this decision, those six MPs have been officially recognized as members of the Shinde faction in the Lok Sabha.

This recognition came after the six MPs, who broke away from the Uddhav Thackeray faction, submitted an application to the Lok Sabha Secretariat seeking approval for their merger into the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Now, the Speaker’s office has accepted that request and given official recognition to this development in the Lower House.

However.. with the Speaker’s decision, these six MPs—Sanjay Jadhav, Om Prakash Rajenimbalkar, Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil, and Astikar—will henceforth be recognized as Shinde loyalists. With the Speaker’s approval, their merger into the Shinde-led Shiv Sena has now gained official recognition in the Lok Sabha.

This decision comes nearly a month after the six Members of Parliament left the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. With their joining, the strength of the Shinde faction in the Lok Sabha has increased to 13 MPs.