Shiv Sena parliamentarians are still undecided on joining the breakaway faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde amid claims by the BJP leaders that at least a dozen Lok Sabha members were in touch with them.
A central BJP minister claimed that the split in the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra will also have an impact in the Lok Sabha as at least a dozen Lok Sabha members of the outfit, out of the total 19, were ready to switch sides.
The Shiv Sena’s 19 members in Lok Sabha include one from Dadra & Nagar Havel. It has three members in the Rajya Sabha.
Shinde’s son Shrikant, a two-term Lok Sabha member from Kalyan, has already joined ranks with his father, while five-term parliamentarian from Yavatmal Bhawana Gawli had written a letter to the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray urging him to consider the grievances of the rebels with regard to Hindutva.
Rajan Vichare, the Lok Sabha member from Thane, was mentored by the late Anand Dighe like Shinde.
Gawli has been under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate over allegations of money laundering connected with a non-governmental organisation run by her.