What was a quiet rift in Shiv Sena (UBT) has now been laid bare by Raut, who not only stood by some colourful language he used for the would-be defectors but also pointed to a poaching campaign with deep pockets. The party is moving fast to put a lid on it, with a whip in hand and an audience with the Speaker on the books.
Money-for-defection claim escalates crisis
Raut’s take is that the people behind the split are being bought off in what he sees as a deal, not politics. He says some of the MPs were given Rs 15 crore apiece and have since left on charter flights from places like Nanded and Pune.
He put it bluntly: an MP’s ‘Minimum Support Price’ is Rs 50 crore, and the 15 is just a down payment. In a parting shot at a Trinamool Congress MP's post, Raut quipped that while they might not be worth 50,000 on their own, the party tag has put a premium on them.
A letter has gone to the Lok Sabha Speaker to flag the breakaway attempt, Raut said. And with a meeting called in Delhi, the party expects all its MPs to be in the room.
Whip, Speaker outreach, and anti-defection moves
The whip from Shiv Sena (UBT) is clear: be in New Delhi to talk over some pressing matters. Word from inside is that if you don’t show, you could be looking at disqualification.
They’ve done this before. Back in 2022 when Eknath Shinde and 39 MLAs made their move, the same playbook was followed. This time around, UBT is trying to stay one step ahead.
You can see why. On Wednesday, Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Raut were in front of Speaker Om Birla, with some in the room talking about an 'Operation Tiger‘. Sawant made his point: any group wants to be seen as separate, let the Constitution and the law be the judge.
Desai put it to the press that a letter to the Speaker made it plain: only a party can merge, not a faction. It was less of a political ask and more of a matter of procedure.
Who may move, and why the timing matters
There’s no denying the restlessness. If you believe our sources, as many as six or seven of the nine Lok Sabha MPs are thinking of going over to the ruling side and have set up in the capital. One of Shinde’s men put it down to a possible promotion for Aaditya Thackeray.
Then there’s the report of Eknath Shinde heading to Delhi on Tuesday evening. We can’t put a stamp on any of it, but the ‘six to seven’ figure is what you hear from most in the know.
Some of the names you’ll hear thrown around are Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Patil. But with those come the usual ‘we can’t confirm yet’.
For the opposition in Maharashtra, it’s a lot to watch.
You don’t have to lose many MPs for UBT’s standing to be dented. A few defections would erode the party’s clout on a national level and make things more of a headache at the state, all the more so in the wake of the 2022 break with Shinde and his coterie.
A matter of language and loyalty
Raut has been making a point of the anti-defection angle, but he has no qualms about the rough talk he put down some of his own. He says it’s just the way you speak in Maharashtra and that he knows where to draw the line – you won’t hear him using such terms in Parliament.
Then there is the question of what you make of someone who walks out after being handed 15 crore. Raut was blunt: if you want to go, you resign and put yourself up for the voters. And this time, he said, the people of Maharashtra won’t let it slide.
His side has been quick to back him up. Anil Desai put it down to the kind of slang that comes from emotion, not aimed at anyone in particular, and cited Raut’s long record in public life as a shield. It was a way of turning the tables and putting the onus back on the supposed pay-offs and how the party has handled them.
The other side has made hay of it. Sanjay Nirupam of the Shiv Sena had words for Raut for berating his own MPs, saying it shows the UBT faction is rudderless. In the end, it’s as much about respect as it is about headcounts.
Some of the day’s highlights
With the story changing as the hours went by, here is what you need to know:
– A whip has been put out for a Delhi get-together
– Raut is talking 50 crore an MP as ‘MSP’
– 15 crore is being put forward as an advance
– The Speaker has been met with by three of UBT’s top men
– Word is six or seven MPs are in the offing
Confidence in the Shinde camp
Over in the ruling camp, Shaina NC has been touting Eknath Shinde as a man of the people, one whose style of governance has a pull with politicians from all over. She calls it “Operation Pragati for Maharashtra”.
Don’t let the noise distract you, she says; look at the support coming in. While others can’t seem to get their act together, Shinde is the one with the delivery and the backing to show for it.
And it’s not just a local issue. The Congress has latched onto the fact that Home Minister Amit Shah was put in his place in the Lok Sabha on April 17 when an amendment to the Constitution was voted down. They say he has since been on the warpath, “wrecking” democracy in the process.
Where do we go from here?
For now, it’s a case of procedure. Will the nine UBT MPs follow the whip to Delhi or will they be absent and face the music? The fact that they have been in touch with the Speaker suggests they are ready for a fight on both the legal and legislative front.
Those thinking of making a move have to weigh up the risks. You can resign and recontest, as Raut would have it, but that’s a gamble. Or you can cross over and deal with the law and the bad press.
If UBT does see six or seven of its own go, its voice in the capital will be a lot quieter. If not, Raut’s hard line may have left a mark, but the party can count it as a win. For the moment, you have Raut’s brand of pressure on one hand and the “Pragati” on offer from Shinde’s side on the other. It will be up to the individual MP to call the shot, and in doing so, tell us if this is all bluster or something more.
