12 Shiv Sena MPs set to form separate group in Lok Sabha, meet Speaker

MUMBAI: At least 12 of 19 MPs of Shiv Sena will form a separate group in the Lok Sabha and meet Speaker Om Birla to submit a formal letter, a Shiv Sena MP from Maharashtra claimed on Monday.

The move comes weeks after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena witnessed a vertical split with 40 of the MLAs joining the faction headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

"“We attended an online meeting held by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde today. We have decided to form a separate group under the leadership of Rahul Shewale (an MP from Mumbai)," the MP said on condition of anonymity.

He will be our group leader,” the Sena MP said. He said Shiv Sena MPs Vinayak Raut, Arvind Sawant, Gajanan Kiritkar, Sanjay Jadhav, Om Rane Nimbalkar, and Rajan Vichare did not attend the virtual meeting called by Shinde on Monday while the rest 12 MPs from Maharashtra attended. The Shiv Sena has 19 MPs in Lok Sabha, including 18 from Maharashtra.