Shiv Sena (UBT) Split Speculation: Profiles Of The 6 MPs In Focus

Rumours of another split within Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) have placed six of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs under intense scrutiny, with their absence from a meeting of the Sena (UBT)'s parliamentary party in Delhi on Thursday triggering fresh speculation about unrest within the organisation.

The six MPs who were not present at the meeting were Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Dina Patil and Omraje Nimbalkar. Their absence has fuelled reports that the Sena (UBT), already grappling with the fallout of the 2022 split led by Eknath Shinde, is facing fresh rumours of another split within its ranks.

The significance of the speculation extends beyond parliamentary arithmetic. As The Indian Express has reported, these six MPs were among the leaders who helped Uddhav Thackeray's party hold its ground against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election at a time when many expected the Sena (UBT) to struggle after the 2022 split left it organisationally depleted. Several either retained traditional Sena bastions or delivered key victories against candidates from the Shinde Sena. Any departure by them would therefore represent a setback for a party still rebuilding its organisation and political influence across Maharashtra.

Sanjay Jadhav

Sanjay Jadhav, 56, is the three-term Sena (UBT) MP from Parbhani and is widely regarded as one of the party's loyalists and a long-time supporter of the Thackeray family.

Known as Bandu Jadhav in Marathwada politics, he has spent his entire political career in the undivided Shiv Sena. He has also been among the few senior Sena (UBT) leaders who have never switched their political allegiances. What makes the speculation around him particularly significant for the Sena (UBT) is that he remained with Uddhav Thackeray even after several party MPs moved towards the Shinde Sena in the months following the June 2022 split.

Jadhav began working in the party organisation in Parbhani in the early 1990s when the Sena was expanding in Marathwada, gradually building his position in the district unit. He entered electoral politics in 2004 when the Sena fielded him from the Parbhani Assembly constituency. He won the seat and retained it in 2009. In 2014, he was fielded from the Parbhani Lok Sabha constituency, which he won. He went on to retain the seat in 2019 and 2024.

For decades, Parbhani has remained one of the Sena's strongholds in Marathwada and among the party's long-standing bases outside Mumbai. After the 2022 split, while several districts witnessed local Sena leaders and office-bearers switching to the Shinde camp, Parbhani remained among the few districts where the party unit stood by Uddhav.

Over the years, Jadhav has built his own support base among veteran Sena workers and sections of Maratha and rural voters in Parbhani, where the party has traditionally been strong.

According to The Indian Express, speculation surrounding Jadhav intensified recently after he said at a public programme in Parbhani: "Aaj tumchyasobat aahe, udya kay sangta yet nahi (I am with you today, cannot say about tomorrow)." The remark immediately triggered chatter in political circles as it came amid reports of the Sena (UBT) staring at a split.

At the local Sena (UBT) level, there has also been discontent among several party workers following recent organisational changes, with Jadhav also expressing dissatisfaction over them.

Sanjay Deshmukh

Sanjay Deshmukh, 58, is the first-time MP from the Yavatmal-Washim Lok Sabha constituency and one of the leaders whose political career has spanned multiple parties.

Known as Sanjay Bhau in Yavatmal politics, he began his political career in the undivided Shiv Sena under Bal Thackeray and worked as the Yavatmal district party chief in 1998.

In 1999, following differences with the Sena leadership, he left the party and contested the Assembly election from Digras as an Independent candidate, registering his first victory. He later became Minister of State for Sports in the Congress-NCP government led by Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Deshmukh subsequently remained associated with the Congress for several years. He joined the BJP in 2017, later fought elections again as an Independent after leaving the BJP, and returned to the Uddhav-led Sena before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The Sena (UBT) fielded him from Yavatmal-Washim, where he defeated Rajshree Patil of the Shinde Sena to win his first Lok Sabha election.

Deshmukh hails from Chicholi village in Digras and belongs to a farming family. Over the years, he has remained active in the Digras-Darwha belt through educational institutions and local organisations and has built a strong network in the region.

As reported by The Indian Express, speculation over his possible move intensified after he met Union Minister and Shinde Sena leader Prataprao Jadhav barely a day after skipping a meeting of Sena (UBT) MPs convened by Uddhav Thackeray at his Mumbai residence on Sunday.

For the Sena (UBT), any departure by Deshmukh would be a blow because he is among the few MPs who helped the party win a Lok Sabha seat in Vidarbha after the 2022 split. Unlike several other Sena leaders, however, Deshmukh has changed political affiliations on more than one occasion during his career.

Nagesh Patil Ashtikar

Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, 49, is the first-time Lok Sabha MP from Hingoli and has remained with the Sena throughout his political career, never switching loyalties.

Known as Nagesh Patil Ashtikar in Marathwada politics, he hails from Hadgaon in Nanded district. He began his political journey through the cooperative sector and, in 2009, was elected chairman of the Hadgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee, marking his first major position.

Ashtikar entered electoral politics on a Sena ticket and was appointed Hadgaon taluka chief in 2013. In the 2014 Assembly election, the party fielded him from the Hadgaon constituency, where he won his first election as an MLA.

In 2015, he became a director of the Nanded District Central Cooperative Bank. Although he lost the 2019 Assembly election, he remained active in the party.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Sena (UBT) fielded him from Hingoli, where he defeated Baburao Kadam Kohlikar of the Shinde Sena by more than one lakh votes to secure his first parliamentary victory.

As The Indian Express reported earlier this year, his name first surfaced among possible Sena (UBT) rebels in April after he attended a dinner hosted in Delhi by Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav along with some of his party colleagues. The speculation was reinforced when he skipped Uddhav Thackeray's meeting on Sunday.

However, Ashtikar publicly denied reports of any move to leave the party. At a press conference in Nanded on Monday, he said he remained with Uddhav Thackeray and that there was no question of switching sides. Explaining his absence from the Sunday meeting, he said he was occupied with the ongoing Nanded Legislative Council election, in which his son Krishna Patil is a candidate, and had already informed Uddhav. He also said "baseless rumours" about him leaving the Sena had been circulating for the past two years.

Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure

Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure, 74, is a second-term Lok Sabha MP from Shirdi in Ahilya Nagar and has changed political loyalties more than once during his career.

A senior leader from Ahilya Nagar district, Wakchaure first entered the Lok Sabha in 2009 when the undivided Sena fielded him from the newly created Shirdi constituency. He defeated Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India to become the constituency's first MP after delimitation.

Ahead of the 2014 election, Wakchaure's relationship with the Sena leadership turned sour amid uncertainty over his renomination from Shirdi. He then defected to the Congress. Later, he also quit the Congress and became close to some BJP leaders, lying low politically for several years.

In August 2023, Wakchaure returned to the Uddhav-led Sena at a time when the party was looking for strong candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The Sena (UBT) fielded him from Shirdi in 2024 and he defeated the Shinde Sena's sitting MP, Sadashiv Lokhande, to return to Parliament for a second term.

His name surfaced among the Sena (UBT) MPs facing speculation amid reports of attempts to engineer defections in the party under what was described as 'Operation Tiger', as reported by The Indian Express. Wakchaure publicly denied the reports, saying he had neither met Eknath Shinde nor had any information about the alleged operation.

Sanjay Dina Patil

Sanjay Dina Patil, 57, is a second-term Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North East and has been among the Sena (UBT) leaders who have strongly denied reports of any move against Uddhav Thackeray.

Unlike some of the others facing speculation, Patil did not begin his political career in the Sena. He joined the party only in 2019 after spending most of his political career in the Nationalist Congress Party.

Patil comes from a political family in Mumbai. His father, Dina Bama Patil, was a Congress MLA from Mulund and remained a known political figure in the Bhandup-Mulund belt. Patil himself began his political journey through student politics before gradually emerging through the Congress-NCP ranks in Mumbai.

In 2004, he was elected as an NCP MLA from the Bhandup Assembly constituency. In 2009, the NCP fielded him from the Mumbai North East Lok Sabha seat, where he defeated senior Congress leader Gurudas Kamat to enter Parliament.

In the next two Lok Sabha elections, Patil was defeated. In 2014, he lost to BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and in 2019 he again lost from the same constituency. He joined the Shiv Sena in October 2019.

The Sena (UBT) fielded him from Mumbai North East in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, where he defeated BJP candidate Mihir Kotecha.

Patil's family also remains active in Sena (UBT) politics in Mumbai. His wife is an elected party corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

According to The Indian Express, Patil was still responding to calls from journalists late on Tuesday night, maintaining that he remained with Uddhav Thackeray and had no plans to leave the party. He also said that no pressure had been put on him.

One of the controversies linked to Patil dates back to 2016, when Mumbai Police booked him over allegations that he fired some pistol rounds during a fight in Deonar.

For the Sena (UBT), Patil has been one of the party's important faces in Mumbai. His victory in Mumbai North East in 2024 came at a time when the party was attempting to hold its ground in the city after the 2022 split.

Omraje Nimbalkar

Omraje Nimbalkar, 42, is a second-term Lok Sabha MP from Osmanabad and has long been considered close to Uddhav Thackeray.

He has spent his entire political career in the Shiv Sena and remained with the Uddhav-led Sena after the 2022 split.

Nimbalkar comes from a political family in Dharashiv district. He is the son of late Pawanraje Nimbalkar, whose murder in 2006 triggered a political storm in Maharashtra. His uncle is former NCP leader Padmasinh Patil, while BJP leader Ranajagjitsinh Patil is his cousin.

He entered electoral politics in 2009 when the Sena fielded him from the Osmanabad Assembly constituency, where he won his first election as an MLA. He lost the Assembly election in 2014 but remained with the party.

In 2019, the Sena fielded him from the Osmanabad Lok Sabha seat, which he won. In 2024, the Sena (UBT) fielded him again from the same constituency and he secured a second term by defeating the NCP candidate.

Since entering Parliament, Nimbalkar has been among the party's younger MPs and has remained active both in his constituency and in Parliament. He has also been regarded as close to Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray.

As reported by The Indian Express, his name surfaced among possible Sena (UBT) rebels after reports emerged that he travelled from Pune to Delhi in the early hours of Wednesday.

For the Sena (UBT), any departure by Nimbalkar would represent a setback because he has long been regarded as a staunch loyalist of both the party and the Thackeray family.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)