Mumbai:
The six rebel parliamentarians from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena – who are trying to force their exit and merge with the Eknath Shinde-led faction – met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Wednesday. Sources told NDTV the wantaway six told Birla that the Thackeray’s faction – the ‘original’ Shiv Sena before Shinde’s June 2022 revolt – had deviated from its ideology.
Specifically, the six claimed senior Thackeray Sena leaders had plans to eventually merge with the Congress, part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi bloc and the ex-chief minister’s ally. This ‘merger’, they said, was the reason for their jumping ship. They also requested Birla to allocate House seats near the seven occupied by MPs from the Eknath Shinde faction.
This has been a deja vu time for Thackeray, an unhappy reminder of Shinde’s rebellion, the fall of his MVA government, and his forced resignation as the chief minister of Maharashtra. Sources told NDTV the rebels had been unhappy with Thackeray’s leadership, pointing to the party boss apparently ignoring calls to visit their constituencies and a lack of poll-time support.
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They complained also that even Aaditya Thackeray, his son, seemed off limits to them.
Over the past 48 hours, though this drama has been playing out behind closed doors for months, the Thackeray camp has hit back. strongman Sanjay Raut leading an invective-laden press conference yesterday and repeating those sentiments today.
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In a sense, the meeting with Birla crystallises the Sena 2.0 revolt.
The six who were ‘missing’ this week – their phones were switched off – and their identities in doubt, are now in the open.
And based on similar episodes in the past, in Maharashtra and elsewhere, the Congress’ Madhya Pradesh travails, for example, it is likely their ‘defection’ will be approved, the Shinde Sena’s hand will be strengthened, and the BJP will gain six more votes to push through the contentious women’s reservation and delimitation bills.
Where are the six rebels now?
After meeting Birla, Nagesh Ashtikar flew to the temple town of Tirupati for a pilgrimage. Bhausaheb Wagchaure went to Varanasi, Sanjay Dina Patil to Mumbai, and Omraje Nimbalkar to Pune. Sanjay Deshmukh and Sanjay Jadhav went to another temple town – Ayodhya.
Their departure was quick but they reached Delhi in a staggered manner.
Ashtikar arrived from Nanded via private jet at 1.30 am June 16.
Nimbalkar arrived from Pune at 4.30 am. He was accompanied by Shrikant Shinde, Eknath Shinde’s son. Hours later Deshmukh and Jadhav landed in private jets of their own.
Wagchaure came from Hyderabad, on yet another private jet.
Patil arrived that night.
All six were given rooms at a Noida hotel.
Eknath Shinde, meanwhile, came via Jaipur and the eight, i.e., the six rebels and the two Shindes, reportedly met at Shrikant Shinde’s home, after which the latter and Nimbalkar met Birla at 7 am, while the other five Sena rebels had their meeting three hours later.
What next?
The six will meet Shinde again on Saturday, after which they are expected to release from their meeting with Birla. They will also share the letter sent to the Speaker and explain their decision.
Thackeray Sena hits back
Meanwhile, the Thackeray camp has issued a seven-day show cause notice to the leaders and urged Birla to snub their demands – to break from the party and for seat change.
Birla will be told the six will internally face charges of ‘anti-party’ behaviour.
The Thackeray camp was left extra furious this morning after the six ignored a party whip to be present for a meeting. The Thackeray Sena has nine Lok Sabha MPs left. Only three turned up.
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