MUMBAI — On the eve of the historic 60th Shiv Sena Foundation Day, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is facing a significant legislative crisis as six of its Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs) have revolted. Among the defectors is Mumbai North-East representative Sanjay Dina Patil, whose actions have triggered an internal political split within his own household.
While the senior Patil is maneuvering to align with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, his daughter, Rajool Patil—a prominent Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator—has publicly held her ground, drawing a sharp line between family ties and party loyalty.
Ideological Shift: The Breakaway Group
The six rebel MPs skipped a critical parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi and formally met with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to express a lack of faith in Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership. The breakaway group consists of:
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Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North-East)
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Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv)
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Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani)
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Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim)
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Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli)
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Bhausaheb Vakchaure (Shirdi)
In their presentation to Speaker Birla, the wantaway MPs claimed that the UBT leadership had deviated from the party’s core ideology. They alleged that senior leaders were planning an ultimate merger with the Indian National Congress—a key ally in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bloc—and requested seat allocations in the Lok Sabha adjacent to the Eknath Shinde faction.
A House Divided: The Patil Family Split
The political realignment has caused an immediate domestic and localized fracture for Sanjay Dina Patil:
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The Daughter’s Stance: Rajool Patil aggressively reasserted her allegiance to “Matoshree” by sharing official UBT promotional teasers and foundation day posters prominently featuring Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray across social media platforms.
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The Ground Reality: Just a day prior to the Delhi escalation, Sanjay Dina Patil had firmly dismissed defection rumors. His subsequent absence at the party meeting triggered furious demonstrations by local UBT loyalists, forcing law enforcement to rapidly deploy security outside his Bhandup residence.
