NEW DELHI: The news of a huge political shift that can lead to yet another vertical split in Shiv Sena (UBT) has emerged, as reported by informed sources. Six Members of Parliament (MPs) associated with the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction have decided to switch to the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde.
As per trusted sources, the six dissenting MPs have sent a letter expressing their intent to join the Shinde faction to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. All these political maneuvers were done through top-secret meetings and midnight flights to New Delhi over the past 48 hours.
Delhi rush: The overnight flights
It all started on the midnight of June 16 when lawmakers reached New Delhi in private chartered planes from various places in India, without attracting any political attention.
The details of their arrival in New Delhi on June 16 include the following:
1:30 AM: Nagesh Patil Ashtikar landed at Delhi Airport, flying to the destination on a private plane from Nanded.
Night time: Two MPs Sanjay Deshmukh and Sanjay Bandu Jadhav arrived on another private plane from Nanded.
Midnight: Bhausaheb Wakchaure flew in on a private plane from Hyderabad.
Late night: Meanwhile, Sanjay Deshmukh and Sanjay Bandu Jadhav reached Delhi shortly later on their private aircraft originating from Nanded.
Midnight: In another development, the opposition leader Bhausaheb Wakchaure reached Delhi from Hyderabad on a private jet at midnight.
Overnight: MP Sanjay Dina Patil along with MLA Pratap Sarnaik also arrived in Delhi to meet the opposition faction members.
Alongside, the Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde reached Delhi from Jaipur at around 3:00 AM on June 17th. Shortly later at 4:30 AM, MP Shrikant Shinde, along with rebel MP Omraje Nimbalkar, reached Delhi from Pune. All six dissident MPs were swiftly shifted to a safe house at Noida on their arrival.
June 17: Timeline of actions – Meeting with the Speaker
As political actions unfolded at a faster pace on the morning of June 17, the process moved rapidly from individual meetings to the Parliament framework.
7:00 AM: The duo of Shrikant Shinde and Omraje Nimbalkar met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla first.
10:20 AM: The group of five MPs led by Omraje Nimbalkar reached Speaker Om Birla’s office for a detailed discussion.
In the process of the important meeting, it is said that the six legislators presented a signed resolution to the Speaker. According to reports, the letter mentioned that the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray had “deviated from its core ideology.” Moreover, the letter made the point that the senior members in the party were making efforts towards merging it with the Indian National Congress.
On account of the changes in ideologies, the MPs officially sought recognition from the Speaker for being the part of the Shiv Sena under the leadership of Eknath Shinde in the parliament.
Upon presenting their resolution, the lawmakers dispersed to different places in order to stay low until the complete switch.
Nagesh Ashtikar headed to Tirupati through Chennai, while Bhausaheb Wakchaure reached Varanasi. In turn, Sanjay Deshmukh and Sanjay Jadhav went to Ayodhya, and the remaining two members – Sanjay Dina Patil and Omraje Nimbalkar – came back to their respective cities of Mumbai and Pune.
According to insiders privy to the whole development, it has been planned for these six renegade lawmakers to meet the chief minister, Eknath Shinde, on June 20. In this meeting, they will be addressing the media, and they will also tell them about the reasons for their defection.
Umakant Lakhera is a Senior Journalist and Political Commentator
