Sachin Ahir joined Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Ahir was considered close to Aaditya Thackeray.
He filed nomination for Council deputy chairman post.
Aaditya Thackeray’s Close Aide Sachin Ahir Switches To Shinde Camp Ahead of Deputy Chairman Election
Sachin Ahir filed his nomination as the Mahayuti candidate for the post of deputy chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
Summary
Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) suffered another setback on Tuesday after MLC Sachin Ahir joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Ahir, a former MLA from Worli and a close confidant of Aaditya Thackeray, also filed his nomination as the Mahayuti candidate for the post of deputy chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
Shrikant Shinde confirmed the development and said Ahir had formally joined the Shiv Sena. He said Ahir was also handed the nomination form for the deputy chairman’s election.
Ahir began his political career with the Congress before moving to the Nationalist Congress Party. He later joined the undivided Shiv Sena after Aaditya Thackeray entered electoral politics from Worli, a move seen as helping the young leader secure a safer constituency.
Latest Blow To Uddhav Camp
Ahir’s switch comes amid continued turbulence in the Uddhav Thackeray camp, four years after the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena. That rebellion saw Eknath Shinde walk away with a majority of the party’s MLAs before later securing the party name and its “bow and arrow” symbol.
The latest move also follows last week’s defection of six Lok Sabha MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The MPs who switched sides were Sanjay Haribhai Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure, Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar and Omraje Nimbalkar.
Their defection reduced the Uddhav faction’s strength in the Lok Sabha to three MPs, while the Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s tally rose to 13.
Why The MP Defection Matters
The six MPs constituted two-thirds of Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Lok Sabha strength, the threshold required under the anti-defection law to merge with another party without inviting disqualification.
Their formal induction into the Shinde camp marked the first major parliamentary split in the Uddhav-led faction since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Shinde described the switch as the “second phase” of the 2022 rebellion.
The developments mark the latest chapter in the Shiv Sena’s internal battle that began in June 2022, when Shinde led a rebellion against then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi government
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