Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called on Union Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss technical matters relating to the merger of six MPs who defected Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena to join the Shinde faction recently as part of ‘Operation Tiger,’ and the expansion and reshuffle of the Union cabinet, which is reportedly on the cards, sources said.
If Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla approves the merger of the rebel Uddhav Sena Lok Sabha MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Shinde-led Sena’s strength in the Lok Sabha will rise to 13 MPs. With more MPs, sources said, at least one of the six defectors will be rewarded with a ministerial position. It would mean that the Shinde-led Sena will get one Union cabinet minister post and maybe a couple of Minister of State posts, sources said.
To strengthen the Eknath Shinde-BJP alliance, Shinde’s son and Lok Sabha MP Shikant Shinde is the frontrunner for a cabinet berth and this is one agenda Shinde will discuss with Union Minister Amit Shah, sources said.
Among the six rebels, sources said that Omraje Nimbalkar is expected to get a Minister of State post in the Union government, while the present Minister of State (Independent Charge) Prataprao Jadhav is likely to lose his position. The name of North East Mumbai MP Sanjay Dina Patil is also in the race for a ministerial post, sources said, adding that these matters too will be discussed by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and Union Minister Amit Shah.
However, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is expected to do everything to legally prevent any merger of its 6 rebel Lok Sabha MPs. As a matter of fact, Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant pointed out that although it has been claimed that the 6 rebel Uddhav-led Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MPs merged with the Eknath Shinde-led Sena, Speaker Birla has not yet approved a merger.
“After our request, the Lok Sabha Speaker did not issue a merger order. Hence, there is no question of recognition as a separate political group or a merger with any party. Therefore, the claim that they (the six rebel Uddhav-led Sena Lok Sabha MPs who defected) have merged is constitutionally invalid,” Uddhav Sena Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant stated in his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker as well.
The letter also mentioned Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Act) of the Constitution of India to explain why the claim by the 6 defecting rebel MPs is illegal.
The letter stated that any merger is the responsibility of the original political party to which the rebel defector MPs belong, and not merely a group in the legislature or the parliament. MPs cannot claim any merger on their own unless the competent leadership of the original party (Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena) takes a decision to merge with another political party.
The letter also stated that Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray never approved any kind of merger with any party, due to which hence the claim that the 6 rebel MPs merged with the Shinde-led Sena is constitutionally invalid.
Since the election victory of the rebel MPs was due to Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership based on the official election symbol of the Uddhav-led Shiv Sena, the letter stated, that moving to another political party (Shinde-led Sena) after being elected is a direct insult to the mandate given by voters.
The Uddhav Sena has been silent about its moves and is expected to reveal its cards only during the forthcoming Lok Sabha session based on legal technicalities.
The merger of the 6 Uddhav-led Sena Lok Sabha MPs as well as its legal challenges will figure in Deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s discussions with Union Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, sources said.
Earlier on Monday, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena issued a letter addressed to the 6 rebel MPs who defected stating, “It has come to our knowledge through reports in the public domain that you, along with certain other Members of Parliament are attempting to portray that there is a ‘merger’ of Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray-led Shiv Sena with the Shiv Sena headed by Eknath Shinde. At the outset, it is made clear that Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, being the original political party, has neither initiated, nor agreed to, nor permitted any merger with the Shiv Sena headed by Eknath Shinde”.
The letter addressed to Mumbai (North East) Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Dina Patil as well as five other rebel MPs who defected, were identically worded and addressed to Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar and Omprakash Nimbalkar.
“This position has been categorically affirmed by Uddhav Thackeray and in the absence of any merger of the original political party, there can be no question of any merger of the legislature party. No such merger is possible or contemplated in law,” the letter to the 6 rebel MPs stated.
The rebel MPs were also warned that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had informed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to disregard “any request seeking recognition of any merger, or of any separate group, made by any Member of Parliament elected on the symbol of the Uddhav Balaseheb Thackeray-led Shiv Sena”.