&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Lok Sabha Speaker recognises six UBT rebel MPs as Shiv Sena, leaving Uddhav Thackeray with three")
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) rebel MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The approval raises the Shiv Sena's strength in the Lok Sabha to 13 MPs, while reducing the strength of the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction to three members.
The Speaker also approved separate seating arrangements in the Lok Sabha for 20 MPs who broke away from the Trinamool Congress and announced their merger with the regional Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). However, the Speaker has not yet cleared the merger of the rebel TMC MPs.
Last month, rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar led a group of 20 MPs that announced a merger with the NCPI. Shiv Sena (UBT) also faced a split after six of its Lok Sabha MPs joined the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.
Earlier, seven Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs joined the BJP. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance currently has 298 members in the Lok Sabha, including the Speaker. If the Speaker approves the merger of the rebel TMC MPs with the NCPI, the NDA's strength will rise to 318.
The ruling alliance would then move closer to the two-thirds majority mark of 360 in the 540-member House, where three seats are currently vacant.
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The recent mergers have triggered speculation that the Centre may bring back the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill. The proposed legislation seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to as many as 850 seats and implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, providing 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures.
According to sources, the Centre is likely to reintroduce the Bill while trying to address concerns and assure a uniform 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats across states.
With the NDA moving closer to a stronger majority and the DMK not being part of the INDIA bloc, the Centre is looking to secure the passage of the Bill, which was defeated after receiving 298 votes in April.
