Sena (UBT) MPs summoned to Mumbai, Uddhav meet on Sunday

Chaitanya.MarpakwarMumbai: Amid speculation that two-thirds of Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs will split and join Eknath Shinde’s Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray summoned all his MPs to Mumbai on Saturday, which was also Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray’s birthday. MPs have been asked to stay put in Mumbai, and Uddhav will meet them on Sunday.Sena (UBT) has 9 MPs in the Lok Sabha, and any split will require 7 MPs to cross the two-thirds majority mark. Political observers said it will be important to see how many MPs turn up for the meeting on Sunday, since some MPs, such as

Sanjay Jadhav

from Parbhani, have remained absent from recent party meetings, fuelling speculation that he is in touch with CM Eknath Shinde. However, Sena (UBT) functionaries said 3 of the 9 MPs are from Mumbai, and all three are committed to Matoshree, so reaching the two-thirds mark won’t be easily possible to engineer any defection.Sena (UBT) MP from Nashik Rajabhau Waze said he was attending the Sunday meeting called by Uddhav. “None of our MPs will leave Uddhavji. I have said this many times before. No one has reached out to me, and there is no question of me leaving. People must not spread rumours and defame us. I’m happy where I am. I will not leave Uddhavji as people have voted for us for a particular ideology and party,” Waze said.In the last few months, there have been several instances of Sena (UBT) MPs meeting Shinde or other top Shinde Sena netas, sparking speculation that a split could occur.

Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar recently visited Shinde at his official residence. Nashik MP Rajabhau Waje had a meeting with Sena MP Shrikant Shinde. Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure met industries minister Uday Samant.Parbhani MP Jadhav created a stir last month by saying ‘economic calculations’ are important in elections, so it is impossible to say what will happen next. “I will never betray those who made me grow up, but the current situation has changed.

Economic calculations are important in elections, so it is impossible to say what will happen next," Jadhav said while speaking at a public function.In April, 2 Sena (UBT) MPs, Nagesh Ashtikar and Sanjay Deshmukh, attended the rival Shiv Sena functionary and Union minister Pratap Jadav’s dinner meet, leading to speculation that there was a rift in the Sena (UBT), and a section of its MPs could break away.Reports of political turmoil in TMC in West Bengal, and a large section of former CM Mamata Banerjee’s MPs forming a rebel group, have riggered fresh speculation about the possibility of similar developments in the Sena (UBT).