Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has approved the merger of six Lok Sabha MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The approval was granted on Saturday, 18th July, two days before the session begins on Monday, 20th July.
Following the Speaker’s decision, the Shiv Sena now has 13 MPs in the Lok Sabha, while the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction has been reduced to three members. An internal circular issued by the Lok Sabha Table Office confirmed the revised strength of both parties in the 18th Lok Sabha.
Six MPs had joined the Shinde camp in June
The six MPs, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Patil, had joined the Shiv Sena in June in the presence of Eknath Shinde. Announcing their entry at the time, Shinde had said that all formalities had been completed and described the move as the success of “Operation Tiger.”
With the merger now officially recognised, the Shiv Sena has become the largest NDA party from Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha. The party won seven seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and has strengthened its position by adding six MPs. It is now the NDA’s second-largest ally after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), with 13 Lok Sabha members and two Rajya Sabha MPs.
UBT questions recognition, may move court
The Shiv Sena welcomed the Speaker’s decision. Party’s parliamentary leader Shrikant Shinde said the six MPs had not received due importance in the Uddhav camp and had made the right choice by joining the Shiv Sena.
However, Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary party leader Arvind Sawant said the party would first examine the Speaker’s order before taking any legal step. He said the party wanted to understand the basis on which the merger had been accepted and would then decide whether to challenge it in court.
TMC rebels yet to get formal recognition
Along with the Sena decision, the Speaker also approved a separate seating arrangement for 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs. However, their request to be recognised as members of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a West Bengal-based party, is still awaiting final approval.
According to a senior Lok Sabha official, the matter is under consideration, and a decision is expected soon. The government has already invited the rebel TMC MPs to Sunday’s all-party meeting as representatives of the NCPI.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a letter to rebel leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, stated that he and 19 other MPs had joined the NCPI and that their request for recognition was pending before the Speaker. Bandopadhyay also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
Numbers matter as key Bills remain in focus
If the NCPI merger is also approved, the NDA’s strength in the Lok Sabha will increase to 319 MPs. Even then, the alliance will remain 41 seats short of the 360-member two-thirds majority needed to pass Constitutional Amendment Bills.
The political developments have gained importance as there is speculation that the government could bring back the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, along with the Delimitation Bill. These Bills were defeated in the previous session after receiving only 298 votes in favour against 230, falling short of the required two-thirds majority. Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) had opposed the Bills during that vote.
The proposed legislation seeks to increase the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850 seats and redraw constituency boundaries based on the 2011 Census, paving the way for implementing 33% reservation for women in legislatures. The Opposition had opposed the Bills, saying the government’s assurance of a 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats for every state was not clearly written into the legislation, despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah offering to include it through an amendment. Meanwhile, TMC leader Derek O’Brien criticised the Speaker’s decision on the rebel MPs’ seating arrangement, while NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule dismissed reports suggesting her party was moving closer to the NDA.
