8 Uddhav's MPs to join Shinde's Sena, claims Maha min

Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant on Friday claimed that many leaders from the opposition Shiv Sena-UBT were in touch with the Shiv Sena and would be inducted into the rival fold in phases.

IMAGE: Eight Shiv Sena-UBT MPs reject Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant's claim. Photograph: ANI

Talking to reporters, Samant said people have realised that the party led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is the real Shiv Sena, which is taking forward the ideals of founder Bal Thackeray.

He said, "People have realised that Shinde's leadership is better than that of the Shiv Sena (UBT). His leadership is good and sensitive, which is why so many people are in touch."

Many people are reaching out to the party, and it is certain that they will enter the fold phase-wise, the minister said.

Samant said, "If any mission is to be undertaken, it is not done openly. There is no need to implement any mission here, considering the work Shinde has done."

Rejecting Samant's claims, eight Lok Sabha members of Shiv Sena-UBT -- Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Omraje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Rajabhau Waje, Sanjay Jadhav, Nagesh Ashtikar and Sanjay Deshmukh -- held a joint press conference to assert their allegiance to the party.

Sawant asserted that none of the Shiv Sena-UBT MPs had received any phone calls and condemned the attempts to "spread rumours" about mass desertions from the Thackeray-led party.

The former Union minister said the Shiv Sena-UBT MPs had been with the party in difficult times and would continue to do so.

The two outfits have been bickering since the BJP-led Mahayuti swept to power in Maharashtra in November, leaving the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition with just 46 seats in the 288-member assembly.

The Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 57 seats in the assembly polls, getting an upper hand over the Thackeray-led outfit ahead of the crucial local bodies elections, expected later this year.

The Shiv Sena split in June 2022 after Shinde rebelled against then CM Uddhav Thackeray and brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

The Shinde faction got the Shiv Sena name and the bow and arrow symbol, while the Thackeray faction was christened Shiv Sena-UBT, with "mashaal" (flaming torch) as its symbol.

The Shiv Sena is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP and NCP, while the Shiv Sena-UBT is in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.