Lok Sabha Speaker approves merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. File | Photo Credit: PTI Ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT) MPs into the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The Shiv Sena (UBT) will now have only three MPs in the Lok Sabha.Also read | Defection as merger: On politics, the wave of defectionsThe Lok Sabha Secretariat on Saturday (July 18, 2026) published a circular with the Shiv Sena’s revised position in the Lok Sabha. The Shiv Sena with floor leader Shrikant Eknath Shinde has 13 MPs, the circular said, suggesting the Lok Sabha Speaker had approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Shiv Sena, as the faction led by Mr. Eknath Shinde is called.The Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs — Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Dina Patil, Bhausaheb Wakchoure, Omraje Nimbalkar, and Sanjay Bandu Jadhav — had requested a merger with the Shiv Sena led by the Maharashtra Deputy CM. The request for the merger was pending with Mr. Birla, and by issuing a circular on party’s position, the Speaker has apparently cleared the merger. The Speaker has also approved the request of 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs to sit separately during the session. The Union government, meanwhile, has invited the rebel TMC leaders — Sudip Bandopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar — for a meeting of floor leaders on Sunday (July 19, 2026). After a split in the Trinamool Congress, 20 MPs had announced that they had joined the little known National Citizens Party of India (NCPI). In a letter to Mr. Bandopadhyay, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said he had requested the Speaker to recognise the NCPI, which is under his consideration.Mr. Rijiju also wrote to Mr. Bandopadhyay and Ms. Dastidar. “It is my pleasure to invite you for a meeting of Floor Leaders of Political Parties in Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha to discuss important issues and Legislative Business likely to come up before the Houses in the ensuing Monsoon Session of Parliament. I would seek your cooperation to ensure smooth functioning of both the Houses of Parliament,” Mr. Rijiju said in his letter to Mr. Bandopadhyay. “I shall be looking forward to your participation and request you, along with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, nominated Chief Whip of your party, to kindly make it convenient to attend the meeting,” the letter added. The monsoon session of Parliament begins on Monday (July 20, 2026) and is scheduled to go on till August 13. The government has listed seven Bills to be considered during the session, including the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to amend the 1971 law to make the intentional insult of, or disruption during, the singing of the national song Vande Mataram a punishable offence; the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, which proposes stricter rules for delayed registration; the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikaran Bill and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill are also listed for consideration and passage. Published - July 18, 2026 10:55 pm IST