Overview
- Sources report that a group of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs travelled to New Delhi this week and that six to seven of the nine MPs are being courted to join Eknath Shinde’s faction.
- Arvind Sawant has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asking him not to recognise any separate Sena parliamentary group, and the Speaker has said he will seek the physical presence and verified signatures of any MPs who claim a breakaway.
- The UBT has issued a three‑line whip and summoned its parliamentary party for a June 19 meeting while warning of legal action and accusing rival leaders of offering large sums to induce defections.
- Under India’s anti‑defection rules a formal two‑thirds shift of nine MPs (six MPs) would let defectors avoid disqualification, but the 2003 Tenth Schedule amendment and recent court rulings mean recognition and merger claims remain legally contested.
- If the rebels secure the numbers and merge with Shinde’s group it would strengthen the NDA’s Lok Sabha position and could affect votes on high‑profile measures such as delimitation and women’s reservation, while coverage shows persistent denials from some MPs and sharp disputes between the two Sena camps.