Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray Calls MLAs Meet After MP Exodus; Four Absentees Fuel Fresh Defection Speculation

Mumbai: Days after suffering a major setback with six Lok Sabha MPs switching allegiance to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday convened a meeting of party MLAs and MLCs in Mumbai to assess the strength of his legislative wing and chalk out the party's strategy for the ongoing monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature.

Four MLAs Remain Absent

However, the meeting triggered fresh political speculation as four of the party's 20 MLAs remained absent. The absence of the legislators has raised eyebrows in political circles amid discussions that the Shinde camp could now target UBT legislators and local body representatives following its success in engineering a split among the party's MPs.

Of the 20 Shiv Sena (UBT) MLAs in the Assembly, 16 attended the meeting, while all five party members in the Legislative Council were present. The absent MLAs were Sanjay Gaikwad Dherkar, Rahul Patil, Sanjay Potnis and Sunil Shinde.

Meeting Focuses on Monsoon Session

Party leaders attributed the absences to personal and political commitments. Rahul Patil, the MLA from Parbhani, said he could not attend the meeting as he was occupied with the Legislative Council election vote-counting process. He said the party had fielded candidates in the election and he remained present in the hope of securing their victory. Sanjay Dherkar and Sunil Shinde were reportedly in their native places, while no official reason was immediately available regarding Sanjay Potnis' absence.

The meeting, addressed by Uddhav Thackeray and senior party leader Sanjay Raut, focused on the party's approach during the monsoon session and the political situation following the defection of six MPs.

The rebellion has reduced the UBT faction's strength in the Lok Sabha from nine MPs to three.

In a bid to reconnect with party workers and voters in the affected regions, Thackeray will undertake a three-day tour from June 27 to June 29 of the constituencies represented by the defected MPs. Senior party leaders have been assigned responsibilities for various districts during the outreach programme.

Thackeray has already announced that he will visit the constituencies and apologise to voters who had elected the MPs on the party's symbol in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The tour is being seen as an attempt to contain the political fallout of the rebellion and reinforce the party's organisational base ahead of upcoming electoral contests.

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