Engineered splits are now dressed up as mergers, letting groups defect without inviting disqualification

Uddhav Thackeray's faction faces uncertainty as MPs plan to meet Eknath Shinde in Delhi, raising fears of a defection similar to the Trinamool Congress split in West Bengal.

Shiv Sena (UBT) is on the verge of a split, days after 20 TMC parliamentarians defected and allied with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). | India News

Under the anti-defection law, at least six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs would need to move together to form a separate group without being disqualified. | India News

The rebellion became more apparent after six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs skipped a parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. | India News

Six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs have written to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. They claim the party has moved away from its founder's ideology. The MPs allege a planned merger with Congress.…

Since the breakaway group consists of six MPs, they will not attract the provisions of the anti-defection law as they comprise two-thirds of the Sena (UBT)’s nine Lok Sabha MPs.…

Engineered splits are now dressed up as mergers, letting groups defect without inviting disqualification

This trend of defections began with the disintegration of the Aam Aadmi Party’s parliamentary party in April.