New Delhi: Six of the nine Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday skipped a crucial parliamentary party meeting here, indicating a formal crossover to the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. A visibly upset Sanjay Raut, the lone Rajya Sabha MP of the Shiv Sena (UBT), launched […]
Published Date – 18 June 2026, 04:58 PM
New Delhi: Six of the nine Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday skipped a crucial parliamentary party meeting here, indicating a formal crossover to the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
A visibly upset Sanjay Raut, the lone Rajya Sabha MP of the Shiv Sena (UBT), launched a tirade against the absentees and showered threats and expletives on them, saying the “traitors” will need protection from the Indian Air Force to save themselves from the wrath of Shiv Sainiks.
Sena (UBT) MPs Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting, along with Raut. The absence of the remaining six Lok Sabha MPs all but confirmed a split in the party’s parliamentary ranks.
The MPs who skipped the meeting are Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure.
Following the meeting, Sawant told reporters that show-cause notices will be issued to the six MPs.
“They will be asked why they did not attend the meeting despite a whip being issued in this regard. They will be given seven days to respond and if they do not respond, we will write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking their disqualification,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha floor leader said.
Raut said the MPs’ no-show will be considered a violation of the party whip and legal action is being initiated to disqualify them as lawmakers.
Sources said all six dissident MPs have signed a letter seeking a merger with the Shinde-led Sena and submitted it to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The process, however, is not yet complete, as the speaker’s office is understood to require the physical appearance of some of the MPs for verification and that is “expected to happen in the coming days”, they said.
The verification of signatures is currently underway, the sources added.
Sawant said if the letter exists, the rebel MPs should make it public.
Raut, who had used expletives against the rebels on Wednesday too, asserted that “this time, things are not easy and they won’t be spared”.
“The traitors will not be able to go home or to their constituencies. They will be taught a proper lesson. They will need the help of the Army to reach home, they will need the Indian Air Force for protection,” Raut warned.
He also held the Supreme Court and the Election Commission responsible for the prevailing political situation in the country.
On Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) issued a three-line whip directing its MPs to attend the meeting at 11 am on Thursday at the party office located in the Parliament House complex. The move was aimed at paving the way for possible disqualification proceedings against the rebel leaders.
Shiv Sena (UBT) has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha and at least six will have to switch sides together to escape disqualification under the anti-defection law.
“Action will be taken against those who violate the whip after consulting the party chief (Uddhav Thackeray),” Sawant told reporters ahead of the meeting.
However, sources in the Shinde camp disputed the validity of the whip, saying it can be issued under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law) only for House proceedings and not internal party meetings.
“The courts have repeatedly held that while a political party can issue internal directions (including for meetings) as a matter of organisational discipline, non-compliance with such a whip has no Tenth Schedule consequence unless it concerns voting in the House,” a Shinde camp functionary said.
According to the sources, Shinde arrived in Delhi late on Tuesday and returned to Mumbai on Wednesday. He was the principal architect of the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022 that brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
On Wednesday, Sawant, Desai and Raut met Birla and urged him to guard against any unlawful defection.
“Under the law, one cannot simply merge with a party even if they have the support of two-thirds of the MPs. Only the original party can merge if a group has the required two-thirds strength,” Desai had said.
