Shiv Sena (UBT) vows legal battle after Speaker approves six MPs' merger with Shinde camp

New Delhi – The Uddhav Thackeray‑led Shiv Sena (UBT) erupted in protest on Saturday after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla formally recognised the defection of six of its MPs to the rival faction headed by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. The decision, the party argues, flies in the face of the Constitution’s anti‑defection provisions.

“The approval is illegal. We will challenge the decision,” shouted Ambadas Danve, a senior UBT leader, while addressing reporters outside the Parliament complex. Danve stressed that the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution only permits an entire political party to merge with another, not a handful of legislators acting on their own.

According to the anti‑defection law, a group of legislators can avoid disqualification only if at least two‑thirds of a party’s members agree to a merger. Danve pointed out that the six MPs in question represent a fraction of the UBT’s Lok Sabha strength, and therefore, in his view, cannot claim a legitimate “merger.”

The speaker’s ruling, however, effectively re‑catalogues those six lawmakers as members of the Shinde‑led Shiv Sena, boosting the faction’s numbers in the Lower House and tightening the political noose around the UBT camp.

Officials from the Shinde side welcomed the move. Former MP Sanjay Nirupam, now a spokesperson for the Shinde faction, said the merger “has been carried out within the complete constitutional and legal framework of the anti‑defection law.” He added that the Speaker’s order simply reflects the legal reality of the MPs’ decision to switch allegiance.

The controversy revives a simmering dispute that began when the original Shiv Sena split in 2022. Since then, both camps have been locked in a series of court battles over the party’s name, election symbol and parliamentary strength. The latest development adds another legal front to an already crowded battlefield.

UBT has already hinted that it will approach the Supreme Court, arguing that the Speaker’s interpretation stretches the anti‑defection law beyond its intended limits. “We will seek judicial intervention to set the record straight,” Danve said, promising a “swift and decisive” response.

As the drama unfolds, political analysts say the episode could become a landmark test of India’s anti‑defection framework, potentially reshaping how party splits are handled in Parliament for years to come.