The Uddhav Sena vs Shinde Sena battle has now reached the Lok Sabha with the faction led by the former Maharashtra Chief Minister, reduced to a minority in the Maharashtra Assembly. New Chief Whip for Lower Housereplacing MP Bhavana Gawali.
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday appointed Rajan Vichare as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, replacing MP Bhavna Gawli, party leader Sanjay Raut said.
The development came to the fore after rebel Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil on Wednesday claimed that 12 out of 19 Shiv Sena MPs would soon join the Eknath Shinde-led faction. The spread of rebellion among the MPs will be a major loss for the Shiv Sena, which apart from having 19 members in the Lok Sabha, also has three members in the Rajya Sabha.
A day earlier, Shiv Sena’s Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale asked Uddhav Thackeray to ask party MPs to support NDA’s presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, considering her tribal roots and contribution to the social sector.
Why is the Uddhav faction’s move important?
This move of the Uddhav Thackeray faction assumes importance for two reasons. Firstly, it is being seen as an advance step by the Uddhav side to prevent Eknath Shinde faction From handling the parliamentary party, and secondly, the choice of Vichare, a leader from Shinde’s home constituency Thane, as chief whip suggests Uddhav, the former Maharashtra chief minister, has yet to give up the fight despite being in the minority. is in the state assembly.
Vichare is also said to have been mentored by the deceased Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe, who also advised Shinde. Shinde and Vichare have competed for prominence in the party in the past, but following Shinde’s rise in the MVA over the years, Vichare reportedly developed cordial relations with him.
The whip played a key role in the recent political crisis, which culminated in the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government and the swearing-in of Eknath Shinde as the new chief minister. The factions led by Shinde and Thackeray had Whip issued for voting during the election of the President The vote of confidence of the Legislative Assembly and of the Shinde-led government. There is a dispute amongst themselves over the validity of the whip.
ruckus over army’s election symbol
Another controversy running parallel in Shiv Sena is about the party symbol. Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil on Wednesday said that the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde… The real contenders for the party’s bow and arrow symbolThe claim was contested by the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp of the saffron outfit.
“We are the real contenders for the bow and arrow symbol of the party,” he said. Vinayak Raut, Lok Sabha MP from Sindhudurg, a member of the Thackeray-led camp, challenged the rebels to declare that they had left the Shiv Sena and challenged the BJP to call mid-term elections in the state.
“The rebels have no right to claim the party symbol made by our father (Shiv Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray,” he said. “We are ready for mid-term elections. The BJP should end the political uncertainty in the state and conduct mid-term elections.
The former minister said the Shinde faction would restore the glory of the 56-year-old regional party. We have 40 out of 55 MLAs (of the rebel camp) with us and 12 out of 18 MPs are coming with us. So whose party is it? I have personally met four MPs. We also have 22 former MLAs with us.
(with PTI inputs)
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