New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Amid intense speculation over a potential split among Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Members of Parliament, senior party leaders Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant on Thursday held a joint press conference to sound a fierce warning to any potential defectors.

Invoking the aggressive legacy of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray, the leaders asserted that the party would no longer tolerate betrayal and would launch a political and legal offensive against those trying to engineer a split.

The press conference was called just ahead of a crucial meeting of the Sena (UBT) parliamentary party at their Parliament office in New Delhi.

Arvind Sawant, the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, confirmed that a formal, mandatory binding order -- a three-line whip -- had been officially issued to all party MPs. “The whip was hand-delivered to the residences of the MPs, and additionally transmitted via email and WhatsApp to ensure legal compliance. The meeting was convened to assess the physical presence of the MPs in Delhi and to deliberate on key parliamentary strategies,” he said.

Addressing ongoing media speculation about a mass defection, Sanjay Raut took a sarcastic jibe at opponents, stating, "Looking at the media atmosphere, even though we officially have nine MPs, it feels like 15 will turn up today."

Raut revealed that party chief Uddhav Thackeray had personally called to review the situation and issued clear directives on how to handle the political crisis. Furthermore, he highlighted that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar has extended complete solidarity to the Thackeray faction. "Pawar Saheb has reached out and expressed his readiness to hold joint public rallies in the home constituencies of any rebel MPs. This fight will be fought collectively by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, including Shiv Sena(UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and the Congress," Raut declared.

Both leaders took turns sharply criticising the ruling Eknath Shinde-led faction and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of using financial inducements and central investigative agencies like the ED and CBI to "kidnap" democracy. Recalling the fiery words of the late Balasaheb Thackeray, Arvind Sawant said: "Respected Shiv Sena Pramukh had openly proclaimed that if any MP or MLA defects in the future, do not worry about legal technicalities -- confront and neutralise them directly on the streets. This is Balasaheb's ideology."

Concluding the briefing with the same aggressive stance, Sanjay Raut threw down a direct challenge to the ruling alliance. ”Who are you trying to scare with ED and CBI? We have been to jail before and are ready to go back. But this time, we will teach you a lesson before we go. You managed to break the party once. Now I dare you to try it again. If we don’t smash your designs, we won’t call ourselves the sons of Shiv Sena. Our father's name is Balasaheb Thackeray,” he remarked.

Raut heavily lambasted the Shinde faction, comparing their political dealings to the brokers of Mumbai's red-light district, 'Golpitha', and accusing the BJP of permanently staining India’s democratic culture.

With the Uddhav Thackeray faction initiating immediate disciplinary actions and warning of massive public backlash in local constituencies, the political tussle over the control of Shiv Sena's parliamentary strength is set to escalate severely in the coming days.

--IANS

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