look news india
The phase of shocks for Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra politics is not showing any signs of stopping. On Tuesday, the Uddhav faction (Shiv Sena-UBT) suffered another huge political loss. Legislative Council Member (MLC) Sachin Ahir, considered close to Thackeray, has said goodbye to the party. Not only this, after joining Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, he has also filed his nomination papers for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council as a candidate of Mahayuti.
Big ‘game’ took place in Lok Sabha also, 6 MPs changed allegiance
Before this rebellion in the Legislative Council, the Uddhav camp had to suffer huge losses on the floor of the Lok Sabha also. 6 out of 9 Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) have switched sides to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The MPs who changed sides include the names of Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchore, Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar and Omraje Nimbalkar. After this major defection, now Uddhav Thackeray is left with only 3 MPs in the Parliament, while the number of Shinde faction has increased to 13.
Why are rebel MPs safe from legal trouble?
There is a discussion in the political circles as to why these MPs did not come under the ambit of the anti-defection law? The simple answer lies in the statistics. Under the anti-defection law, if two-thirds of a party’s total members switch sides simultaneously, they are not disqualified. Since the 6 MPs are exactly two-thirds of Shiv Sena’s (UBT) total Lok Sabha strength, their merger is legally safe.
The real war of Shiv Sena continues from 2022
The script of power struggle in Shiv Sena was written in June 2022, when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government fell due to Eknath Shinde’s rebellion. After this political development, in February 2023, the Election Commission gave a big decision and gave the status of ‘real Shiv Sena’ to Eknath Shinde’s faction and allotted the party the iconic ‘bow and arrow’ election symbol. Since then, the Uddhav Thackeray faction is known as ‘Shiv Sena (UBT)’ and both the factions are staking their claim on the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray. Sachin Ahir’s resignation is the latest chapter in this continuing disintegration.