"Rs 50 Crore, Private Jets": Uddhav Sena MP's Big Charge Amid Party Split Buzz

As the buzz around a likely replay of the 2022 split grows stronger, the Uddhav Sena has made a sensational charge over "poaching" of party MPs.

Party MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday alleged that MPs have been offered Rs 50 crore to switch sides and that an advance of Rs 15 crore was paid to "buy MPs". He further added that private jets were being sent to ferry MPs to Delhi. He claimed that three private jets were sent to three locations in Maharashtra, including Nanded and Pune, on Tuesday. 

The Uddhav Thackeray's party leaders addressed a press briefing on Wednesday morning. Apart from Raut, party MPs Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajubhai Waze were present at the press conference.

Uddhav Readies Action Plan

Meanwhile, Uddhav Sena is gearing up for action against the "rebels". The party has called a meeting of its Parliamentary party on Wednesday. All MPs have been directed to attend the MPs meet in Delhi at 11 am on June 18. Party said that action will be taken against the MPs who fail to join the meet.

The party is also firming up its legal strategy. According to sources, the Thackeray faction is exploring legal options to bring the breakaway group under the ambit of anti-defection and party discipline provisions.

Six MPs In Touch With Eknath Shinde: Sources

According to sources, six MPs from Shiv Sena UBT are in contact with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The MPs are Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omraje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Sanjay Jadhav.

However, at least two MPs, while talking to NDTV denied that they were switching sides. Sanjay Dina Patil and Rajubhai Waze told NDTV that they were with Uddhav Thackeray. Waze was also present at the party press conference in Delhi on Wednesday. 

Raut reminded the "rebel" MPs that they won on the face of Uddhav Thackeray and Balasaheb Thackeray, and voters won't forgive if they switch sides.

At the briefing, Raut said that 2-3 MPs may be in touch with the Eknath Shinde faction and if they don't turn up at Thursday meet, action will be taken.

Speaking to NDTV, Raut said Uddhav Thackeray worked hard for every MP and stood by them. "The rebels will not be able to get the numbers they need. The BJP is trying to lure MPs with money, but they will not succeed. We are committed followers of Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology," he said.

Meet With Speaker Not Fxed Yet

The 'rebel' UBT Sena MPs are likely to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla soon, but the meeting timing has not been set yet. Sources told NDTV that the rebel camp may yet not have the required numbers to avoid anti-defection law. UBT Sena has nine MPs in Lok Sabha and rebels will need at least six on their side to defect. Sources told NDTV that lines are still open with some of the MPs.

In a parallel pre-emptive move, Uddhav loyalist MPs Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant met Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday and urged him to go by the established procedures and rules if any MPs from the "rebel" camp come to him with any representation. Uddhav loyalists Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai are camping in Delhi amid the crisis.

According to sources, the rebel MPs of Uddhav Sena met Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde in the Capital at Shrikant Shinde's Delhi residence on Tuesday night. Shrikant Shinde is Eknath Shinde's son and party MP. There is a possibility of another Shinde and rebel MPs meet.

Uddhav Thackeray is staring at a 2022 like split again. Then Eknath Shinde had split the party and formed a separate faction. This faction then also won the Shiv Sena name and symbol.

Missing MPs At Uddhav's Meet Sparked Buzz

What intensified the buzz was the absence of five of the nine MPs from a recent meeting called by Uddhav Thackeray at his Matoshree residence on Sunday. While Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Sanjay Dina Patil and Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Omraje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar were absent. The party later claimed that the five MPs joined online.

Interestingly, the same five MPs also did not show up to wish Aditya Thackeray on his birthday just a day earlier.