Rebellion
in Shiv Sena ranks now reached Parliament when the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction
on Wednesday appointed Rajan Vichare as the party chief whip in the Lok Sabha, replacing
Bhawana Gawali. The Shiv Sena has 18 members in the Lok Sabha and three members
in Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha MP and Samana editor Sanjay Raut wrote to Lok Sabha
Speaker Om Birla announcing the change. The change in party whip is an
indication of the Shinde rebellion now reaching Delhi.

The newly-appointed
Shiv Sena chief whip Rajan Vichare hails from Thane, the home base of
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Bhawana Gawali, who was replaced by
the party, reportedly said prior to the rebellion that Shiv Sena should ally
with the BJP and form the government. Gawali has also been faced with
Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons of late.

Wednesday’s
change of chief whip came after rebel Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil had claimed that
12 of Shiv Sena’s 18 MLAs will side with the Eknath Shinde camp. It was after
Patil said this that the Uddhav Thackeray faction decided to quickly take
action and appoint a new chief whip. Sanjay Raut, Leader of Shiv Sena
Parliamentary Party wrote to Parliamentary Affairs minister Prahlad Joshi: “It
is to inform you that Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party has nominated Rajan
Vichare, MP (LS) as the chief whip in Lok Sabha in place of Bhavana Gawali, MP
(LS), with immediate effect.

Meanwhile,
Rahul Shewale, another Shiv Sena MP urged Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday to
support Droupadi Murmu, BJP’s presidential candidate. The oppositional stance
of the Sena, until Uddhav was at the helm, would have otherwise been with Yashwant
Sinha.

The role of
the party chief whip became important during the Maharashtra floor test in
which 164 MLAs supported the Eknath Shinde faction and 99 supported the Shinde faction.