Following the revolt of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra last month, the party’s Lok Sabha group was split wide open on Tuesday after 12 of the party’s 19 Lok Sabha MPs moved over to the rebel Shinde camp, dealing another body blow to Uddhav Thackeray’s dwindling Sena faction.
The development, long on the cards since the rebellion of 40 Sena MLAs in the State, elicited scant surprise.