Shiv Sena (UBT) on Verge of Major Split as Six MPs Quit Party Over Ideological Differences

Four years after the rebellion that brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) is on the verge of another major split. On Thursday, six of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs did not turn up for a parliamentary party meeting, a clear sign that they were quitting the party. These disgruntled MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday to formalise their separation and merger with the ruling Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Only three MPs, Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Vaze, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut attended the party's official meeting, confirming the deep divisions within the parliamentary party. According to NDTV, during their meeting with the Lok Sabha Speaker, the six rebel MPs claimed that the Thackeray faction had deviated from the core ideology of the party founded by Bal Thackeray. The rebels expressed concern that senior leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) were quietly planning a complete merger of the House with its ally Congress in the opposition alliance.