New Delhi: Six of the nine Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) skipped a party meeting called by Uddhav Thackeray here on Thursday to decide the fate of dissident parliamentarians. With this latest development, the crossover of the dissident camp into the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena appears imminent.
The MPs who skipped the meeting are Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure.
Sena (UBT) MPs Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting. The party's lone Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut, was also in attendance. The absence of the remaining six Lok Sabha MPs confirmed a split in the party's parliamentary ranks.
Sources stated that the rebel MPs have signed and submitted a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla seeking a merger with Shinde led Shiv Sena. The process, however, is not yet complete, as the speaker's office is understood to require the physical appearance of some of the MPs for verification and that is "expected to happen in the coming days", they said.
On Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) issued a three-line whip directing its MPs to attend the meeting at 11 am on Thursday. The move was aimed at paving the way for possible disqualification proceedings against the rebel leaders.
"Action will be taken against those who violate the whip after consulting the party chief (Uddhav Thackeray)," Sawant told reporters ahead of the meeting.
However, sources in the Shinde camp disputed the validity of the whip, saying it can be issued under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) only for House proceedings, not internal party meetings.
Shiv Sena (UBT) has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha and at least six will have to switch sides together to escape disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The party is facing a splinter among its parliamentary ranks, akin to the split in AAP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
-With agency inputs from PTI
