Sena not born to merge with anyone: Uddhav Thackeray rubbishes rebel MPs' claim

The Shiv Sena UBT chief's rebuttal came in response to six party MPs who rebelled against the leadership, saying the organisation was about to merge with the Congress.

In Short

• Sena UBT chief reiterates party was founded for Hindutva, Marathi rights
• Apologises to voters after six elected MPs moved against leadership
• Six rebel Lok Sabha MPs intensified the party’s internal political crisis

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has dismissed speculation that his party could merge with the Congress, rejecting concerns raised by six rebel Lok Sabha MPs amid growing signs of another split within the organisation. His remarks came after he publicly offered to step aside as party chief if workers no longer had confidence in his leadership, while insisting he would continue fighting for the party’s ideology.

Addressing party workers in Mumbai on the 60th foundation day of the undivided Shiv Sena established by his father Bal Thackeray, Uddhav asserted that the party’s identity remained unchanged.

"The Shiv Sena was not born to merge with anyone. It was created to fight for the rights of Marathi people and protect Hindutva," he said.

The statement was seen as a direct response to rebel MPs who have reportedly justified their revolt by claiming they feared the Uddhav-led party was drifting too close to the Congress and could eventually merge with it.

The rebellion escalated after six of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs skipped an important parliamentary meeting in New Delhi despite a party directive.

Those absent included Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure.

Rejecting their reasoning, Thackeray said, "If we didn't merge with the BJP despite being an ally for 30 years, how can we merge with the Congress. I fear the Maharashtra BJP might merge with the Shinde Sena."

He acknowledged that Shiv Sena had longstanding political disagreements with the Congress but argued that the party had never attempted to weaken the Sena in the way he accused the BJP of doing.

In an emotional moment, Thackeray apologised to supporters over the rebellion. "Today I apologise to voters because they voted for us but our MPs left," he said.

Responding to criticism that he had become inaccessible to party workers, Thackeray defended his leadership and campaign efforts.

"If I didn't move out to meet party workers and travel across the state, how did all of them win elections. During the (2024) Lok Sabha elections, I held seven to ten meetings in every constituency. They became MPs because of the faith of Shiv Sainiks and voters."

Referring to the events of 2019, Thackeray said he accepted the chief minister’s post out of responsibility after alleging that the BJP had betrayed the united Shiv Sena.

He also warned that India was moving towards a "one party, no election" model, arguing that defections engineered through political pressure threatened democratic institutions and public trust in the electoral process.

- Ends
With PTI inputs