In a major setback for Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has recognised the merger of six rebel MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, formally validating their switch under the anti-defection law ahead of Parliament’s Monsoon Session.
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s strength in the Lok Sabha has now risen from seven to 13, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has been reduced to three MPs, according to the updated party position released by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The recognition comes nearly a month after the six parliamentarians broke away from the Uddhav camp. Earlier this week, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had described the induction as “foolproof” and “legally sound,” saying he expected the Speaker to rule in his faction’s favour.
Shinde rejects ‘Operation Tiger’ charge
At a press conference in Mumbai on Friday, Shinde pushed back against allegations that the six MPs had switched camps for money a claim the opposition has labelled “Operation Tiger.” “If I were to tell you that the six MPs who joined us did not do so for personal gain, you might dismiss it as a lie. Those making these allegations see nothing but money, because their mindset is one of taking, not giving,” he said.
He insisted the move was political, not personal. “I can say with certainty that they did not join for personal self-interest. We will provide them with development funds. We even facilitated a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah, and we will ensure that the departmental work relevant to their areas is completed,” Shinde said, before turning his criticism on the Uddhav camp: “The narrative is always the same: if someone leaves, the claim is that they took money. When they are with that faction, they are considered good; when they leave, they are deemed bad. They need to introspect and self-examine.”
‘Merger met all legal requirements’
Shinde has maintained through the week that the merger satisfies the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which allows a merger to stand if at least two-thirds of a legislature party’s members back it. “These six MPs have come with us with a two-thirds majority. After consulting legal experts, they met the Lok Sabha Speaker and completed every procedure, including submitting the required documents and video recordings,” he said.
The Uddhav camp had contested this, arguing the split failed to meet the legal threshold tied to the party’s organisational structure. Shinde maintained that every constitutional and procedural formality had been met, and that the decision ultimately rested with the Speaker.
Revised Lok Sabha arithmetic
The ruling also reshapes the numbers in the House. With 540 sitting members and three seats vacant, the government needs 360 MPs to clear the two-thirds threshold required for a constitutional amendment.
In a separate move on the same day, the Speaker approved separate seating for 20 MPs who broke away from the Trinamool Congress and have proposed a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) though that merger itself is still pending approval.
For now, the immediate fallout is confined to the Shiv Sena’s parliamentary arithmetic: Shinde’s faction consolidates its position as the larger of the two Sena blocs in the Lok Sabha, deepening a legacy dispute that shows no sign of settling before the Monsoon Session begins.
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