The Shiv Sena UBT merger with the Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena has been formally approved. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla gave his nod on Saturday, confirming that six Uddhav Thackeray faction MPs are now part of the Shinde camp. This takes Shinde’s Shiv Sena strength in the Lok Sabha to 13, while the UBT group is left with just three members.
On the same day, separate seating arrangements were cleared for 20 TMC Rebel MPs. These MPs had earlier walked out of Trinamool Congress and announced a merger with a regional outfit called the National Citizens Party of India, or NCPI. However, unlike the Shiv Sena UBT merger, the Speaker has not yet formally approved the TMC group’s merger request. That decision remains pending.
What the Speaker’s office and ministers have said?
Ahead of the Monsoon Session starting July 20, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju invited the TMC Rebel MPs leadership to the customary floor leaders meeting. In his letter, Rijiju wrote, “It is my pleasure to invite you for a meeting of Floor Leaders of Political Parties in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to discuss important issues and legislative business.” He specifically named Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the two senior leaders steering the rebel group.
Rijiju also noted in his letter that the group’s request for recognition as NCPI is “under consideration” by the Speaker. This means their formal merger status is still an open question, even though seating and floor participation have already been granted.
How does this merger process actually work?
To understand the Shiv Sena UBT merger, it helps to know how party splits work inside Parliament. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, also called the anti defection law, MPs who leave their party can normally face disqualification. But there is an exception. If at least two thirds of a party’s legislators agree to merge with another party, no disqualification applies. That is exactly what happened here. Six of the nine Shiv Sena UBT Lok Sabha MPs supported the move, comfortably crossing the two thirds threshold. Once the Speaker verifies this majority, the merger becomes legally valid.
The same rule applies to the TMC Rebel MPs. With 20 out of a larger TMC Lok Sabha group backing the NCPI move, they too claim to meet the two thirds requirement. However, TMC has filed disqualification petitions against these MPs, arguing they voluntarily gave up party membership. The Speaker’s final call will decide whether this counts as a valid merger or a case for disqualification.
Is this legally sound under our Constitution?
Is switching sides this easily allowed under Indian law? The short answer is yes, as long as the merger route under the Tenth Schedule is followed properly.
The Constitution protects such splits specifically to prevent one house from being locked in endless legal battles every time a party sees internal disagreement. As Eknath Shinde said during an earlier round of this very fight, “We have done nothing illegal. Whatever we have done is under the ambit of the Constitution, laws, rules and regulations.”
Still, opposition parties argue that money power and political pressure often drive these mergers, not genuine ideological differences. That debate continues, but the Speaker’s approval of this Shiv Sena UBT merger follows an established constitutional process.
Why does Shiv Sena UBT Merger connect to delimitation?
Delimitation is the process of redrawing Lok Sabha seats based on population data, expected sometime after 2026. Every party’s current strength and internal unity matters a lot in this exercise. Parties with fractured representation, like Shiv Sena UBT or TMC after these rebel exits, may find themselves with reduced bargaining power when new seat boundaries and allocations are discussed.
A weakened UBT faction means Uddhav Thackeray has fewer voices to argue for Maharashtra’s interests during delimitation talks. Similarly, if the TMC Rebel MPs formally merge into NCPI, West Bengal’s opposition landscape becomes more fragmented right when delimitation conversations gain momentum. Political strength in Parliament today often shapes how much influence a party carries in these future exercises.
How can the NDA benefit from all this?
Every MP who moves from an opposition party to an NDA aligned group strengthens the ruling alliance’s numbers in the Lok Sabha. The Shiv Sena UBT merger directly adds six more MPs to Shinde’s Shiv Sena, a firm NDA ally.
With the TMC Rebel MPs also seeking similar recognition, the opposition INDIA bloc could shrink further in terms of formal floor strength. Fewer opposition numbers make it easier for the government to pass bills, control key parliamentary committees, and even influence who gets recognized as the Leader of Opposition in some cases.
It also creates a psychological effect. Every high profile defection signals instability within the INDIA bloc going into the Monsoon Session.
A quick look back on Shiv Sena background
This is not the first time Shiv Sena has faced this exact fight. Back in 2022, twelve of the original nineteen Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MPs had shifted allegiance to Shinde, leading to a similar tussle over party symbols and legitimacy. That episode eventually led to Uddhav Thackeray losing both the Maharashtra Chief Minister post and control over the undivided Shiv Sena.
The current Shiv Sena UBT merger is essentially the next chapter of that same story, this time affecting the party’s already reduced Lok Sabha presence. For TMC, this marks its first major parliamentary split in recent years, and it comes at a politically sensitive time ahead of the 2026 Monsoon Session.
Shiv Sena UBT Merger: The Road Ahead
The Monsoon Session begins July 20 and runs until August 13. Expect heated exchanges once Parliament convenes, especially around the pending TMC Rebel MPs merger decision. The Speaker’s final ruling on NCPI recognition will be closely watched, as will TMC’s disqualification petitions against the twenty rebel MPs.
For now, the Shiv Sena UBT merger stands as a done deal, while the TMC story remains unfinished business heading into a monsoon session.