Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLC Sachin Ahir on Tuesday filed his nomination for the post of deputy chairman of the Maharashtra legislative council on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance.

Ahir, who was considered a confidante of Uddhav Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, filed the nomination in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, indicating that he has switched sides to the ruling alliance.

Ahir, a former Nationalist Congress Party leader, joined the then-united Shiv Sena in 2019 and became an MLC in 2022.

Meanwhile, Uddhav Sena leader Ambadas Danve said on Tuesday MLC Jagannath Abhyankar would be the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s candidate for the post of deputy chairman of the legislative council, PTI reported.

The development comes eight days after six of the Uddhav Sena’s nine Lok Sabha MPs joined the Shinde Sena.

The MPs who have switched sides are Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omprakash Nimbalkar from Osmanabad, Mumbai North-East MP Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal-Washim, Sanjay Jadhav from Parbhani and Bhausaheb Wakchaure from Shirdi.

The defections have reduced the Uddhav Sena’s strength in the Lok Sabha to three MPs and increased the Shinde faction’s tally to 13.

Commenting on Ahir’s move, Uddhav Sena MLA Sunil Raut said that the party has weathered several challenges and would remain intact, PTI reported.

“We have received many shocks, but the party was never finished,” Raut was quoted as saying. “This shock is not a big one for Shiv Sena (UBT).”

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed that his party had nothing to do with Ahir’s decision, The Indian Express reported. However, he claimed that repeated exits from the Uddhav Sena were the outcome of the “arrogance” of party leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut.

Crisis in the Uddhav Sena

On June 18, the six rebel MPs had skipped a meeting of the party’s parliamentary group. The meeting was held a day after the faction alleged that its MPs were being offered Rs 15 crore each to join the Shinde Sena.

It was attended by the other three Lok Sabha MPs of the faction and Raut.

The following day, the Uddhav Sena initiated disciplinary action against the six MPs.

The Shiv Sena had split in June 2022 after Shinde and 39 MLAs backing him rebelled against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government that also comprised the undivided Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.

After more than a week of political drama, Shinde had been sworn in as the chief minister with the backing of the BJP. He became the deputy chief minister after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance comprising the Shinde Sena, the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP, retained power in the 2024 Assembly elections.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.