Union Home Minister Amit Shah has declared Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena as the authentic party, stating that there is only one Shiv Sena left after the split. This comes as six of nine Lok Sabha MPs of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) skipped a parliamentary meeting in Delhi and submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking to form a separate grouping.
The merger of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena into the party is expected to be formalised imminently, which will likely provide support to the BJP-led NDA regime at the Centre led by PM Narendra Modi.
Amit Shah's declaration is seen as a strategic move by the BJP to consolidate its power and weaken the opposition. The BJP has been backing moves that have eroded Uddhav Thackeray's organisational strength since Shinde broke away in 2022.
The development is also seen as an attempt by the BJP to shore up support for its Delimitation Bill, which is being seen as a prerequisite to the 33% women's quota being operationalised.
