Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday supported his cousin Uddhav Thackeray amid the rebellion of 6 Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs. He alleged that efforts are being made to divide the elected representatives for political gains. Addressing a gathering in Mumbai, he said, “There are efforts going on to divide the MPs, politics for power is in full swing. I believe that the common people should pay attention to all these things more than the workers of political parties. There is an old saying: ‘When self-respect is lost, only living corpses are left.'”
Raj Thackeray He further said that in the race to get power, political parties are forgetting the bigger issues facing Maharashtra and the country. He said, “In this game of kidnapping MLAs and MPs, we are forgetting our basics. We are forgetting the tradition of Maharashtra, the history of Maharashtra, the tradition of the country.”
His statement comes a day after Uddhav Thackeray’s statement in which in his first reaction to the rebellion within Shiv Sena (UBT) he had said that despite the challenges, he is strong-willed and if the workers lose confidence in him, then he is ready to step down from the post of party chief.
Uddhav had offered to step down from the post of party chief
Speaking at an event on the 60th foundation day of Shiv Sena, Uddhav said, “I would be happy if a leadership leader of the party is made the next Shiv Sena President, but I will not let it fall into the hands of thieves.”
Today, June 20, 2026, Rosie, held a dialogue with the officials of Rangsharda Auditorium in Vandre, Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Pune district and municipal areas.
– Don’t ignore Voter’s Review (SIR) or things, you can create things without targeting your voters. pic.twitter.com/4HTEVR8lbr
— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) June 20, 2026
Raj Thackeray also accused political parties of using tactics to weaken their opponents instead of fighting them through public support.
He said that movements often reach people’s homes but are not converted into votes, and asked party workers to understand how election strategies are being implemented. He said, “Our movement reaches homes, but homes do not reach the ballot box—what is this called? Do we even realize that some conspiracy is being hatched around us?”
Sound of rebellion in Shiv Sena (UBT)
A fresh crisis in Shiv Sena (UBT) has arisen due to the rebellion of six of its nine Lok Sabha MPs, who despite the party whip, did not attend an important parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi. The MPs who stayed away from the meeting included Nagesh Ashtikar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchore. Only three Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting along with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.
Later, the four leaders were honored on the occasion of the party’s foundation day in Mumbai. Shiv Sena (UBT) has issued show cause notices to absent MPs, giving them 24 hours to explain their absence from an important meeting and warning them of disqualification action.
This rebellion has led to speculations of another split in Shiv Sena. There was a major split in the party several years ago in 2022, when Eknath Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, and ultimately formed the government with the BJP. Recent developments have raised questions over the future of the Uddhav-led faction and intensified the political fight in the opposition party in Maharashtra.
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