Speaker has recognized Shewale as new Sena Lok Sabha leader: Eknath Shinde
New Delhi, July 19
Split in the Shiv Sena parliamentary party was wide open on Tuesday with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announcing that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had recognized a new leader of the party in the lower house.
Rahul Shewale, Mumbai South Central MP, who leads the group of MPs owing allegiance to Shinde in the legacy war with Uddhav Thackeray, will replace Vinayak Raut (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP) as the party’s floor leader in LS.
The development came after 12 Sena MPs (out of 19 in LS) met Speaker Birla in his chamber today demanding recognition for their majority group in the house as the battle for claim over the Shiv Sena symbol intensified.
The 12 MPs include Yavatmal’s Bhawna Gawli, former chief whip who was recently removed by Uddhav. These 12 MPs professed loyalty to Shinde in a massive setback to the Uddhav Thackeray led faction.
They also appeared alongside Shinde during the press conference at Maharashtra Sadan here.
Shewale meanwhile said today that Uddhav wanted to rejoin the BJP last year but retracted at the last moment.
“We had also asked Uddhav Thackeray not to support opposition candidate Margaret Alva in the vice presidential election but our views were disregarded,” Shewale added.
The 12 breakaway Sena MPs include Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde.
Tuesday’s hectic development came a day after Vinayak Raut, in a letter to Birla, urged not to entertain any representation from the anti-Uddhav faction of Sena.
With a split in the Maharashtra legislative party and the parliamentary party now accomplished to his favour, Shinde might move the Election Commission to lay claim over the party symbol.
