The Shiv Sena, a prominent regional party in India, is facing another major split as six of its nine Lok Sabha MPs have reportedly submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker to form a separate group.
The move is seen as a significant blow to Uddhav Thackeray's leadership, who has been struggling to maintain control over the party since the 2022 assembly split.
The rebels, led by Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, and Sanjay Deshmukh, have already skipped both a parliamentary party meeting of Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday and the party's 60th foundation day event held by Uddhav on Friday.
Uddhav Thackeray has rejected the rebels' stated rationale that they feared a Congress merger, asserting that the Shiv Sena was not born to merge with anyone.
The current rebellion is the sharpest in a line over the years, with the party facing a slow bleed since the 2022 assembly split.
The Sena's parliamentary crisis has not unfolded in isolation, with the NCP and TMC also facing similar challenges.
