In Jolt to Uddhav, Shinde Camp MP Named Shiv Sena's Lok Sabha Leader by Speaker

12 of Shiv Sena's 19 Lok Sabha members shifted their allegiance to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Uddhav Thackeray (left) and Eknath Shinde.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday, 19 July, named rebel Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde faction of the party, as the leader of the party in the Lower House of Parliament.

The decision was notified late in the night through a circular issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

Earlier on Tuesday, at least 12 Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena had written to the speaker, urging him to appoint Shewale as their leader in the Lower House, expressing no confidence in the incumbent Vinayak Raut.

This came a day after the Thackeray camp had written to the speaker, asserting that Vinayak Raut is the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha and Rajan Vichare is the chief whip. It also urged the speaker not to entertain any representation from the rival faction.

12 of 19 Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MPs Shift Allegiance to Shinde

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had suffered another jolt on Tuesday, with 12 of its 19 Lok Sabha members shifting allegiance to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and declaring two-term member Rahul Shewale as their leader in the Lower House.

Shewale, the leader of the Shiv Sena's rebel faction in the Lower House, claimed that they have aligned with the BJP as per the wishes of Thackeray, who was himself making similar efforts in June last year but backtracked later.

The Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, however, rubbished the claims made by Shewale.

'Welcome the Stand Taken by Them': Shinde

Addressing a press conference and flanked by the 12 Shiv Sena MPs, Shinde claimed that the Lok Sabha speaker had recognised Shewale as the Shiv Sena leader in the Lower House. This was before it had been notified by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

Shinde asserted that the 12 Lok Sabha members were following the ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray and were the original Shiv Sena. The faction is also learnt to have staked a claim on the parliamentary party office in Parliament.

"I welcome the stand taken by 12 Lok Sabha members of the Shiv Sena in supporting us. Our stand (of aligning with the BJP) was supported by 50 MLAs. We also received support from the party workers as well as people of the state," Shinde said.

Rahul Shewale Says Uddhav Wanted To Align With BJP, Thackeray Camp Refutes

Rahul Shewale said at a press conference on Tuesday that Shiv Sena MPs had asked Thackeray in June last year to realign with the BJP as it would be difficult for them to win the 2024 parliamentary elections if the alliance with Congress and NCP continued.

Shewale claimed that Thackeray had presented the MPs with three options – an alliance with the BJP, going it alone, or continuing with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition with Congress and NCP.

"We have merely chosen the first option suggested by Thackeray," he said.

The Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, however, rejected the claim.

"There was no talk of Shri Uddhav ji wanting to get back into the previous alliance at the MPs meet, so that's obfuscation to justify deceit," Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said.

Shiv Sena has 19 members in the Lok Sabha, including one from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and three members in Rajya Sabha.

The MPs who have declared support for Shinde include Shewale, Bhawna Gawli, Sadashiv Lokhande, Hemant Godse, Hemant Patil, Rajendra Gavit, Sanjay Mandalik, Shrikant Shinde, Shrirang Barne, Prataprao Jadhav, Dhairyasheel Mane, and Krupal Tumane.

The Lok Sabha MPs with Thackeray are Vinayak Raut, Rajan Vichare, Omraje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Jadhav, Gajanan Kirtikar, Arvind Sawant, and Kalaben Delkar. Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Raut, Anil Desai, and Priyanka Chaturvedi are with Thackeray.

Meanwhile, police in Maharashtra have beefed up security at the office of Shiv Sena MP Krupal Tumane and some of the other Sena parliamentarians.

(With inputs from PTI.)