12 Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MPs set to join Eknath Shinde camp; full list accessed

Amid an impending split in the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party, Republic TV accessed the list of 12 Lok Sabha MPs who are likely to join the Eknath Shinde camp. This includes Bhavana Gawali and Shrikant Shinde who distanced themselves from the Uddhav Thackeray faction since the beginning of the rebellion in Shiv Sena. As of now, 6 Lok Sabha MPs- Vinayak Raut, Arvind Sawant, Gajanan Kiritkar, Sanjay Jadhav, Om Rane Nimbalkar, and Rajan Vichare are in the Thackeray camp while Dadra & Nagar Haveli parliamentarian Kalaben Delkar is yet to disclose her affiliation. 

Here is the list of 12 Sena MPs:

1. Shrikant Shinde- Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's son and Kalyan MP since 2014
2. Dhairyasheel Mane- First-time Hatkanangle MP
3. Sadashiv Lokhande- Shirdi MP since 2014 and 3-time MLA
4. Hemant Godse- Nashik MP since 2014
5. Hemant Patil- First-time Hingoli MP and former Nanded South MLA
6. Rajendra Gavit- Palghar MP since 2018
7. Sanjay Mandlik- First-time Kolhapur MP
8. Shrirang Barne- Maval MP since 2014
9. Rahul Shewale- Mumbai South Central MP since 2014 & ex-BMC Standing Committee chairman
10. Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav- Buldhana MP since 2009
11. Krupal Tumane- Ramtek MP since 2014
12. Bhavana Gawali- Yavatmal-Washim MP since 1999

Split in Shiv Sena

While 40 out of 55 Sena MLAs are already supporting the Maharashtra government, more trouble looms for party president Uddhav Thackeray as 12 MPs attended a virtual meeting chaired by Shinde on Monday. Anticipating that these parliamentarians may seek recognition as a separate group in the Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party leader Vinayak Raut petitioned Speaker Om Birla. As per sources, the rebels want Rahul Shewale to be the Parliamentary Party leader and Gawali as the chief whip.

Speaking to the media after reaching Delhi late on Monday, the Maharashtra CM told, "As of now, the MPs haven't met me. They will definitely meet me tomorrow. Why 12? We have 18 MPs. All of them will meet me". Meanwhile, Union Ministers Kapil Patil and Raosaheb Danve and other BJP MPs including Sanjay Patil, Dhananjay Mahadik and Udayanraje Bhosale have reached Maharashtra Sadan to meet Shinde. Sources indicated that the rebel Sena MPs will also address the media later in the day.