MUMBAI: After a sessions court on Saturday acquitted all the accused in the murder of Pawanraje Nimbalkar, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Omraje Nimbalkar’s father, Uddhav Thackeray made one last attempt to convince Nimbalkar to not join the rival Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde. The MP had said that he would make up his mind after the verdict and after consulting his colleagues in his constituency.Mumbai, India - June 20, 2026: MP Omraje Nimbalkar arrived at the Mumbai Special CBI Court for the verdict in the 20-year-old double murder case of his father, Pawanraje Nimbalkar. The court acquitted all accused, including former minister Padamsinh Patil, citing insufficient evidence in the case in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)After lambasting Nimbalkar and the other five errant MPs on Friday, the Sena (UBT) chief on Saturday sent Dharashiv MLA Kailas Patil, who is close to Nimbalkar, and MLA Varun Sardesai with a message for the MP: to forget the last two days and work together. According to a leader from the Thackeray camp, both MLAs told Nimbalkar that Thackeray saw him as a young leader and the party’s face in Marathwada region.In response Nimbalkar expressed displeasure over the language used against him by MP Sanjay Raut and others. He also clarified that he had no complaint against Thackeray and was considering the Shinde proposal out of political compulsion but had not taken a final decision. He even sought time to think.Had Nimbalkar agreed to stay, his decision would have turned the tide since the other five MPs would have been unable to fulfil the two-thirds criterion laid down to form a separate group or defect to another party. However, he made no commitment and proceeded to his constituency, Dharashiv, on Sunday evening accompanied by Shinde’s Dharashiv leaders. Shinde ordered local Sena leader Tanaji Sawant to provide support to Nimbalkar in order to counter any pressure from the Thackeray faction during his visit to Dharashiv.After reaching his village, Gowardhan Wadi, on Sunday evening Nimbalkar held a closed-door meeting with his trusted local leaders. According to a leader present at the meeting, Nimbalkar told them that it was no longer possible to fight from the opposition against murder accused Padamasinh Patil and his son, BJP leader Ranajagjitsinha Patil, as they were getting full support from the ruling BJP. Nimbalkar also said that Shinde had immediately taken up the issue of filing an appeal in the murder case with union home minister Amit Shah.“For political survival, we need strength and also need to give strength to party workers,” he said. “We need the power that the ruling side can afford us. Just support me in my decision. People will see that after joining the ruling side, I will not compromise with the rival family but will confront and overpower them. I assure you all that I will not campaign for them and neither do I want a single vote from their side.”After the closed-door meeting, Omraje Nimbalkar came out and announced his decision to join the Shiv Sena. “I am not joining deputy CM Shinde out of greed for power and money but for political survival and constituency-related issues,” he said. “At the same time, I want to make it clear that I certainly received affection, blessings and support from party chief Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray and the late Balasaheb Thackeray. I have never spoken a wrong word about them and I never will do so. I want to tell party workers that even if they criticised us, no one will use inappropriate language for the Thackeray family. I thank them for everything. I will continue working for ordinary people.”On Sunday evening, the party’s Hingoli MP, Nagesh Ashtikar, also defected, claiming on FB Live that it was impossible to do development work in one’s constituency without switching to the ruling side. “Being in the opposition, we are suffering from a lack of funds and approval for the work we propose,” he said. Ashtikar also expressed displeasure about the internal trust issues in the Thackeray camp.When contacted about the formal announcement of the MPs joining the Shiv Sena, a Sena official said, “The announcement will be made in a day or two after completing the formal procedure.”