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By:

Quad Najmi and PTI

17 June 2026 at 5:11:32 pm

Uddhav faces another rebellion; decision today

Six Lok Sabha MPs trying to move away; picture may be clear at today’s Parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi AI generated image Mumbai: A cloak-and-dagger crisis engulfing the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has landed at the door of the Lok Sabha Speaker, with the party urging him to guard against any unlawful defection and issuing a whip directing its MPs to attend a meeting in Delhi on Thursday. Amid the escalating crisis, a group of rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders is learnt to have met...

Uddhav faces another rebellion; decision today

Six Lok Sabha MPs trying to move away; picture may be clear at today’s Parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi AI generated image Mumbai: A cloak-and-dagger crisis engulfing the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has landed at the door of the Lok Sabha Speaker, with the party urging him to guard against any unlawful defection and issuing a whip directing its MPs to attend a meeting in Delhi on Thursday. Amid the escalating crisis, a group of rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders is learnt to have met Speaker Om Birla informally on Wednesday, claiming the support of six of the party's nine MPs in the Lower House, sources said. Thursday's high-stakes meeting in Delhi will legally and physically define whether Uddhav Thackeray retains his parliamentary strength or faces another devastating party division, the third since Raj Thackeray split Shiv Sena in 2006. Sources in Sena (UBT) said the rival camp still doesn't have the support of six MPs. They claim two of the six rebels have reportedly changed their mind. In a swift counter-offensive to contain the damage, the party high command issued a mandatory three-line whip, summoning an emergency parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi on Thursday to force a physical showdown where the MPs will have to mark their presence physically. The developments triggered a day of high political drama in the national capital, marked by a furious, expletive-laden press conference by Raut, a reported counter-meeting by the rebel faction with Lok Sabha Speaker Birla, and sharp condemnation from the Congress. The internal fracture was visible at Sanjay Raut's press briefing, where only three other Lok Sabha MPs, Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, and Rajabhau Waje, stood by him. The remaining six lawmakers were conspicuously absent; their exact whereabouts are unknown. The Sena (UBT) has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha, and at least two‑thirds of them would be required to form a separate group. Apart from Desai, Waje and Sawant, the other six MPs are Sanjay Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar and Sanjay Jadhav Not Reachable The six MPs stopped responding or became unavailable since Wednesday forenoon, after which the party stopped contacting them. They said when the party contacted Mumbai North East MP, Sanjay Dina Patil, he told party leaders that he was not with the rebel group. The party had asked them to submit a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, which he has not submitted so far. Later in the day, sources claimed that the group of six rebel lawmakers had privately met the Lok Sabha Speaker to claim a two-thirds majority in the Lower House, the precise threshold required to escape disqualification under the anti-defection law. Simultaneously, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who split the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022, was reportedly camping in Delhi to oversee the operational layout of the defection of MPs. He returned to his home town Thane in Wednesday night. He is reportedly studying all the legal aspects before taking a final call before the party’s foundation day on Friday. Speaker’s Role Following reports of the rebels' move, a loyalist delegation consisting of Raut, Sawant, and Desai rushed to meet Speaker Birla to file a formal representation urging him to reject any unlawful group alignment. Desai argued that the legal provisions are strictly on the side of the original organisational structure. "Under the law, a splinter group cannot simply merge with another party on its own, even if they have two-thirds support. Only the original administrative party holds that right," Desai told reporters, adding that the Speaker assured them he would thoroughly examine every legal aspect before rendering a decision. The widening panic inside the party also triggered a public, familial disconnect involving missing Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar. While the MP remained unreachable, his son, Krushna Patil Ashtikar, the MVA's official candidate for Thursday's Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, released a video statement strongly defending Uddhav Thackeray. "I am a Shiv Sainik of Uddhav Thackeray. There is no room for doubt when it comes to me," the younger Ashtikar stated.

Redrawing the Map

A business-savvy Chief Minister tries to sweep away the grime and legacy of her predecessors.

Delhi
Delhi

For years, Delhi staggered under the weight of promise and paralysis. Under the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Arvind Kejriwal, populist gestures often overshadowed serious governance. Infrastructure projects lagged, illegal constructions mushroomed and despite earnest talk about the Yamuna’s revival and healthcare reforms, delivery fell woefully short. Now, with Rekha Gupta of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the helm, the winds of change are unmistakably blowing through the national capital.


In her first 60 days in office, Gupta, a businesswoman-turned-politician, has unveiled a flurry of initiatives that signal both a break from the past and an ambition to future-proof Delhi. Her Rs. 4,000-crore development project, announced at the 120th anniversary of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is touted as a “100-year development model.” Sceptics might smirk at the timescale, but the early signs of intent are hard to ignore.


Unlike the AAP, whose tenure saw administrative gridlock between Delhi’s government and its municipalities, Gupta has used her political heft to align the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), municipal corporations, and government departments. Already, Rs. 3,000 crore has been committed to upgrading water and sanitation - two sectors that were chronic failures under her predecessors. Under AAP, sewer overflows and the stench of bureaucratic inertia were common; Gupta has rolled out 1,111 GPS-tracked water tankers and deployed 50 super-sucker machines to clean the city’s drains in stark contrast to the mere two machines bought in the previous decade.


More impressively, technology is being leveraged with unexpected sophistication. Citizens can now track water tankers through mobile dashboards, a small but symbolic shift towards greater transparency - an area where the AAP's promises often evaporated into bluster. Gupta is acutely aware that clean governance must be as visible as clean drains.


Healthcare, another Achilles’ heel of the AAP regime despite grandstanding on mohalla clinics, is also receiving urgent attention. At the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), Gupta called for a more inclusive healthcare model, acknowledging Delhi’s de facto role as a national health capital. The recent launch of an Integrated Liver Rehabilitation Centre, inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, fits snugly into her broader strategy: modernise, expand and integrate healthcare systems from primary to tertiary levels.


The Chief Minister’s embrace of Ayushman Bharat, the Modi government’s flagship health insurance programme (something the AAP resisted adopting fully) signals a new era of cooperative federalism. There is also a commitment to revive water bodies, install smart meters and expand hospital capacity, aiming for an infrastructure that can support a swelling population.


Gupta’s critics, especially the AAP, argue that her blitzkrieg of announcements is more style than substance. But her response to the Mustafabad building collapse offers an early case study in active governance. Within hours, evacuation orders were issued for nearby unsafe structures. Law Minister Kapil Mishra, a vocal critic of the AAP’s alleged complicity in illegal constructions, directly linked the tragedy to Kejriwal-era negligence and appeasement politics. While the rhetoric was predictably sharp, there is little doubt that the MCD, now under BJP influence, has shifted from passive tolerance to active intervention.


Where Kejriwal once skilfully played the outsider taking on entrenched power structures, Gupta is positioning herself as the reformer restoring institutional strength and public accountability.


Nonetheless, success will depend not just on new projects but on the sustained execution of these plans. Delhi’s problems are hydra-headed: air pollution, housing shortages, traffic congestion and climate resilience are all interlinked challenges.


Still, the early months of her tenure suggest a refreshing seriousness of purpose. Rekha Gupta’s model is less about charismatic populism and more about managerial competence. If she can maintain this momentum and can translate announcements into visible results, Delhi might indeed be poised for a renaissance. After years of drift, the city is in dire need of a new architect.

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