New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has firmly rejected rumours of a merger with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Arvind Ganpat Sawant, the leader of the Shiv Sena(UBT) Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha, has issued a formal communication to six MPs who defected to the Shinde camp.

The MPs are Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Jadhav, Nagesh Ashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh and Bhausaheb Waghchaure.

The letter addresses speculation regarding a purported merger and warns against unsanctioned moves by party legislators. Sawant states that the original Shiv Sena(UBT) political party has neither initiated, agreed to, nor permitted any merger with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena or any other political entity. This stance has been officially affirmed by Paksha Pramukh (President) Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray.

The letter reminds those six MPs that he was elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on the ticket, symbol, mandate, and support of the Shiv Sena(UBT). Sawant pointed out that the election was fought directly against candidates fielded by Eknath Shinde’s faction.

Sawant highlighted that under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India, individual legislators do not have the legal authority to independently bring about or effect a merger of a political party. They only have the option to accept or reject a merger initiated by the original parent party.

The communication was prompted by public reports suggesting that Nimbalkar, along with other MPs, was attempting to portray a “merger” between the two factions and had approached the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking official recognition for the same.

In response, Sawant wrote, ‘’In the absence of any merger of the original political party, no question of any merger of the legislature party arises. Further, no such merger is permissible or contemplated in law.”

Sawant’s letter comes at a time when the Shiv Sena(UBT) has already filed representations with the Lok Sabha Speaker, requesting that no demands for a merger or separate group recognition from MPs elected on the UBT symbol be entertained.

According to the letter, the Speaker recently granted a hearing to an authorised representative of the Shiv Sena (UBT). As of date, the Speaker has not passed any order recognising any claims of a merger.

A copy of the letter sent to six defected MPs has been forwarded to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to formally record the party’s strong opposition to any such recognition.

–IANS

sj/dpb