Shiv Sena UBT ‘rebellion’ LIVE: ‘Someone important told me MPs promised ₹50 cr,’ claims Raut

SHiv Sena-UBT ‘ revolt’ word unrecorded: Former due west Bengal chief government minister Mamata Banerjee is facing the challenge of stopping one of the biggest defections in Parliament in recent years — with at least 20 Lok Sabha MPs from her Trinamool Congress on Sunday writing to Lok Sabha Speaker, proposing to join the little-known NCPI, bolstering the BJP-led NDA.Parallelly, a crisis is also brewing in Maharashtra for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which is staring at a split in its Lok Sabha unit as some of its MPs are likely to form a separate group.TMC, Shiv Sena-UBT rebellion | Key points1 - Formal approval for the merger of the rebel TMC faction, comprising 20 MPs and led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) could be delayed after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla decided to hear the TMC leadership before taking a final call. The Lok Sabha Secretariat wrote to Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC's floor leader in the Lok Sabha, on Monday regarding a meeting after he appealed to the Speaker not to recognise any faction of the party. The letter proposed a meeting at 4 pm on Monday, but Abhishek Banerjee was then being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate. The Speaker is now expected to meet him later this week.2 - If the merger goes through, the NDA's strength in the Lok Sabha will rise from 294 to 314 seats, still 46 short of the two-thirds majority mark. In the Rajya Sabha, the ruling alliance could reach 155 seats, just eight short of the two-thirds threshold.3 - Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, ‘Operation Tiger’ has been gaining momentum. Operation Tiger is – the name given to the Shiv Sena’s attempts to poach Sena (UBT) elected representatives. It gained steam on Tuesday evening, two days after only four of the nine Sena (UBT) MPs attended a meeting called by Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai. Leaders of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena said six MPs from the rival Sena (UBT) are likely to form a separate group and are expected to submit a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. They will then merge with the Sena’s Lok Sabha unit, an HT report quoted Sena insiders as saying.4 - The above-mentioned insiders also said three Sena (UBT) MPs – Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh and Bhausaheb Wakchaure – arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday and did not respond to phone calls from party leaders. The six MPs who are likely to form a breakaway group are: Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv), Sanjay Patil (Mumbai North East). However, this could not be independently verified.5 - In West Bengal, Mamamta has faced a series of setbacks since the party's crushing defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recently concluded Assembly elections. Before the rebellion by MPs, MLA Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly with the backing of 58 lawmakers. The team of MPs features several TMC heavyweights like Saayoni Ghosh, Yusuf Pathan, Rachna Banerjee etc., apart from Kakoli Ghosh.