Indian Parliament Speaker Approves Merger of Six Shiv Sena MPs with Eknath Shinde's Faction

Nearly a month after six MPs left Shiv Sena (UBT) camp to join Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Speaker Om Birla on Saturday approved their merger, taking the total tally of Shinde’s Sena to 13 members in the Lok Sabha. The six MPs who formally joined Shinde’s Shiv Sena included Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh, Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure, Omprakash Bhupalsingh Nimbalkar, Sanjay Dina Patil and Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar. Additionally, the Speaker also approved separate seating in the Lok Sabha for 20 MPs who broke away from TMC to form NCPI (Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).