New Delhi, Delhi, India

Shiv Sena chief whip Chandrakant Khaire said Friday that his party MPs had not been ordered to vote one way or the other. Khaire said that "final decision" will be made by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. 

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"There was no whip issued to vote one way or another. Notice has been given to be present in Parliament. Party chief Uddhav Thackeray will take the final decision," ANI quoted Khaire as saying. 

His statement was corroborated by the Sena's Sanjay Raut. 

"Discussions will start at 11 am today. Nation is concerned about the stand of Shiv Sena. Our party will make the right decision. Between 10.30 -11 am, party chief will himself tell the party about his decision," said Raut. 

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Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant had earlier said the same thing. "Shiv Sena will work on directions of Uddhav Thackeray ji. No-confidence motion hasn't been moved by Shiv Sena, we will see what we have to do tomorrow. We have only been asked to be present in the Lok Sabha tomorrow."

Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul had also said that Thackeray's decision would be the last word.

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The party had issued a whip to its MPs telling them to be present in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

News reports Thursday had said BJP President Amit Shah had called Thackeray, and the Sena had agreed to vote against the motion. However, Sena has often behaved like a BJP foe rather than an ally in the past. The Sena's content, in turn,has been that the BJP, in power, has behaved like it needs no allies. 

That said, the BJP-led government is expected to win the trust vote whichever way the Sena votes. The BJP has a clear majority on its own. The opposition knows that but it would like to prove a point — that the BJP is losing allies. It would also like to press home the point that the economy is stalling and that the farm sector is in distress. And it would like to highlight the rising incidents of lynching. 

(With inputs from ANI)