Four legislators from Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) abstained from a legislative party meeting called by the chairman on Monday, the first day of the Maharashtra Legislature's monsoon session, as the party struggles with the political ramifications of the defection of its six Lok Sabha MPs.
As the conference was called to finalise the party's plan for the Assembly session and project unity following the legislative defections, the absence of the four legislators — three MLAs and one MLC — in the face of increased political unpredictability attracted notice.
MLAs Derkar, Rahul Patil, and Sanjay Potnis, as well as MLC Sunil Shinde, were among the lawmakers who did not attend the meeting, as per a report by India Today.
The party, however, asserted that all four had previously notified the leadership of their inability to attend. They gave several explanations, such as getting ready for the next Legislative Council elections, being sick, and having personal obligations.
Days of political unpredictability came to an end on the same day as six of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs formally defected to the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde.
There was a sign of another round of party defections, according to insiders, despite the MLAs' absence from the meeting. The remaining 22 lawmakers joined the meeting, which ended with a group photo with Thackeray in what was perceived as a symbolic display of solidarity.
Thackeray asked the party's MLAs and MLCs to vigorously bring up issues about farmers, unemployment, water scarcity, and other public concerns during the legislative session. At a time when the party is struggling with the impact of losing six MPs to the opposing Sena faction, he also asked lawmakers to put up a unified face.
In an attempt to maintain the party's base of support locally, Thackeray reportedly instructed lawmakers to step up organisational outreach by meeting with party employees in the parliamentary constituencies that the dissident MPs represent.
Ambadas, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT) Legislative Council, stated following the meeting that the legislature party has finalised its plan for the session. "The Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary party was gathering. We talked about ways to bring up concerns like the water crisis that affect farmers, young people, Mumbai, and areas like Vidarbha and Marathwada. We must operate aggressively and methodically since Shiv Sena (UBT) is the biggest opposition party in the legislature," Danve stated.
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He said that in order to coordinate the Opposition's approach in the assembly, a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) meeting has been set for Wednesday.
Additionally, Danve reaffirmed that Shiv Sena (UBT) is still vying for the role of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
Danve that "Operation Tiger" and rumours of potential additional party defections were not discussed during the discussion.
In the Maharashtra Legislature, the Shiv Sena (UBT) presently holds 20 MLAs and six MLCs.
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