The Shiv Sena (UBT) suffered another political setback on Tuesday after senior leader and Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) member Sachin Ahir joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as he is the latest in a series of defections that has altered the political landscape of Maharashtra since the party’s split in 2022.
Within a week of joining the ruling Shiv Sena party, Ahir filed his nomination for the position of Deputy Chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council. This indicates Mahayuti alliance’s confidence in his position.
This was confirmed by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde who said Ahir had formally joined the party and had been nominated for the alliance's Deputy Chairman's election.
In photographs released by the Office of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Sachin Ahir, accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shrikant Shinde and other senior leaders of Mahayuti, submitted his nomination papers to the Returning Officer. The presence of the alliance's top leadership showed that the NDA is united behind Ahir.
Ahir is a former MLA from Mumbai’s Worli constituency and has long been associated with the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray. He is said to have political and symbolic significance because he has been associated with the Thackeray family and he helped to make the party more active in Mumbai.
Sachin Ahir’s political career has gone through many transitions. He started with the Congress before moving to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Before Aaditya Thackeray made his first appearance as the MP in 2019 from Worli Assembly constituency, Ahir joined the Shiv Sena as the party’s second biggest affiliate, which was widely accepted as strengthening the party’s hopes in one of the most prominent seats in Mumbai.
His change comes just two days after six Lok Sabha MPs from the Shiv Sena (UBT) merged with the Eknath Shinde-led faction, strengthening the Deputy Chief Minister’s organisational and legislative power. Shinde had described the mass crossover as the “second phase” of the political rebellion that started in 2022 and ultimately split the Shiv Sena.
Since that split, Eknath Shinde has retained control of the original Shiv Sena with most of his party's legislators supporting him. The faction was then recognised by the Election Commission as the official Shiv Sena and had the party's traditional bow-and-arrow election symbol as their symbol. Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has been trying to rebuild itself while facing repeated defections from leaders and elected representatives.
Political observers think Ahir's defection strengthens the Mahayuti government's position in the Legislative Council and further weakens the opposition camp. With some key leaders and legislators now moving from one camp to another, the balance of power in Maharashtra politics seems to be tilting towards the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and its allies, and the ruling coalition is gaining momentum and will continue to move forward in the next years ahead of the political contests.
