Shiv Sena (UBT)

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) (IAST: Śhiva Sēnā (Ud'dhava bāḷāsāhēba ṭhākarē); lit. 'Army of Shivaji, led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray'; abbr. SS (UBT))^[10][11][12] is a Hindutva-based, Marathi regionalist,^[13][6] nationalist political party formed in 2022 under the leadership of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray.^[12]

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)
Abbreviation	SS (UBT)
President	Uddhav Thackeray
General Secretary	Aditya Thackeray
Parliamentary Chairperson	Sanjay Raut
Lok Sabha Leader	Arvind Sawant
Rajya Sabha Leader	Sanjay Raut
Founder	Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray
Founded	10 October 2022 (22 months ago) (2022-10-10) 19 June 1966 (57 years ago) (claimed)[1]
Split from	Shiv Sena
Headquarters	Shivsena Bhavan, Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra[2]
Newspaper	Saamana[3]
Ideology	Conservatism (India) Social conservatism Marathi nationalism[4][5] Hindutva[6] Hindu nationalism[7] Right-wing populism
Political position	Centre-right[8][9]
ECI Status	State Party
Alliance	INDIA (National Level) MVA (Maharashtra)
Seats in Lok Sabha	9 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha	2 / 245
Seats in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly	16 / 288
Seats in Maharashtra Legislative Council	07 / 78
Election symbol
Party flag
Website
shivsenaubt.in
Politics of India Political parties Elections

It was allotted a new symbol by the Election Commission, separate from the main Shiv Sena. It was one of two separate factions, the other being the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, formed as a result of the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, until the Election Commission recognised the faction led by Eknath Shinde as the legitimate structure of Shiv Sena in February 2023.^[10] Thackeray has filed petition against the decision of the ECI at the Supreme Court in New Delhi.^[14]

Formation

The party was formed after a split in Shiv Sena as a result of the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis. The split was caused by Eknath Shinde, who staged a rebellion in the party, getting support of the majority of the MLAs of the Sena and later splitting from the group led by Uddhav Thackeray, forming the Maharashtra government with the Bharatiya Janata Party, in which Shinde got the post of chief minister whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis became deputy chief minister. The two factions in the Sena later formed separate political parties, with the secular and progressive group, seeking to move further to the left, led by Uddhav Thackeray forming Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) whereas the traditional and original Hindu nationalist faction of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde formed the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena.

ECI decision

On 17 February 2023, Election Commission of India recognised Eknath Shinde's faction as representing Shiv Sena officially. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Uddhav Thackeray has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of India. Further, in its decision, the ECI allowed the party to keep its torch symbol until state assembly by polls.^[14][15]

Leaders

List of leaders of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)

SI No.	Name	Photo	Designation
1	Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray		Founder and National President Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra
2	Arvind Sawant		Leader, Lok Sabha
3	Sanjay Raut		Leader, Rajya Sabha
4	Ajay Choudhari		Leader, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
5	Ambadas Danve		Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council
6	Aaditya Thackeray		Former Cabinet Minister, Government of Maharashtra

List of Rajya Sabha members

No.	Name	Date of appointment	Date of retirement
1	Sanjay Raut	5 July 2022	4 July 2028
2	Priyanka Chaturvedi	3 April 2020	2 April 2026

List of Lok Sabha members

No.	Name	Constituency
1	Arvind Sawant	Mumbai South
2	Sanjay Deshmukh	Yavatmal-Washim
3	Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar	Hingoli
4	Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav	Parbhani
5	Rajabhau Waje	Nashik
6	Sanjay Dina Patil	Mumbai North East
7	Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure	Shirdi
8	Anil Desai	Mumbai South Central
9	Omprakash Rajenimbalkar	Osmanabad

Alliances

On 26 August 2022, the party announced an alliance with pro-Maratha outfit Sambhaji Brigade.^[16] While both parties said that they have come together to "save constitution and fight for regional pride", political analysts pointed out several contradictions in their positions on various core issues.^[17]

On 23 January 2023, the party announced an alliance with the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA).^[18][19] However, on 23 March 2024, Prakash Ambedkar announced VBA's decision to end the alliance.^[20]

Electoral performance

In the 2022 Maharashtra gram panchayat polls, the MVA won 457 gram panchayat seats, out of which the NCP got 155 seats, while the SS (UBT) got 153 seats and the Congress got 149 seats. The NDA got 352 seats, out of which the BJP won 239 seats and the BSS won 113 seats.^[21] In 2024, SS(UBT) got 9 seats in the 2024 Indian general elections, more than its rival faction. Their Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance got 31 seats out of 48 in Maharashtra.

Indian General Election results (In Maharashtra)

Year	Party leader	Seats won/ Seats contested	Change in Seats	Voteshare (%)	+/- (%)	Popular vote	Outcome
2024	Uddhav Thackeray	9 / 21	4	16.52%	1.66%	9,567,779	Opposition

See also

• List of political parties in India
• Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance
• Maha Vikas Aghadi
• 2022 Maharashtra political crisis

References

1. "Both Shiv Sena factions to celebrate foundation day on June 19". 18 June 2024.
2. "Uddhav arrives at Sena Bhawan for meeting". The Times of India. 20 February 2023. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
3. "Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray back as editor of Saamna". The Times of India. 6 August 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
4. "Shiv Sena will continue to fight for Marathi manoos, Hindutva: Uddhav Thackeray". The Economic Times. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
5. "Marathi manoos again for Uddhav Sena". July 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
6. Jore, Dharmendra (9 June 2022). "Uddhav Thackeray defines Shiv Sena's 'secular' Hindutva, challenges BJP to protect Kashmiri Pandits". mid-day.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
7. "Shiv Sena::Founded on 19 June 1966 by Hinduhrudaysamrat Shri Balasaheb Thackrey, a nationalist political party in India". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
8. Phadke, Manasi (24 July 2020). "The 'softening' of Shiv Sena – belligerent under Bal Thackeray to more liberal under Uddhav". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
9. "Uddhav's Shiv Sena: Caught Between the Old and the New". 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
10. Dey, Debalina, ed. (10 October 2022). "Team Eknath Shinde Now 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena', 'Mashaal' Poll Symbol for Uddhav Camp". News18. Delhi, India. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
11. "Thackeray-led Sena gets 'mashaal' as election symbol; Shinde camp asked to give fresh list". Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
12. शिंदे-उद्धव गुटों को नए नाम अलॉट, निशान एक को: एकनाथ को गदा देने से Ec का इनकार; ठाकरे को मशाल सिंबल मिला [Shinde-Uddhav factions allotted new names, mark one: EC refuses to give mace to Eknath; Thackeray gets torch symbol]. Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). Mumbai. 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
13. "Shiv Sena will continue to fight for Marathi manoos, Hindutva: Uddhav Thackeray". The Economic Times. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
14. "Election Commission should be dissolved immediately and reconstituted through 'proper process': Uddhav Thackeray". The Hindu. 20 February 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
15. "Uddhav to move to SC". The Times of India. 18 February 2023. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
16. Banerjee, Shoumojit (26 August 2022). "Thackeray's Shiv Sena forges alliance with pro-Maratha Sambhaji Brigade". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
17. "Shiv Sena and Sambhaji Brigade in a marriage of convenience". The Week. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
18. Chitnis, Purva (23 January 2023). "Uddhav Sena ties up with Prakash Ambedkar's VBA. MVA allies Congress, NCP 'welcome' move". ThePrint. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
19. "Maharashtra: Uddhav's Shiv Sena ties up with Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi". India Today. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
20. "VBA alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) doesn't exist any longer; next move on Mar 26: Ambedkar". ThePrint. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
21. Sutar, Kamlesh Damodar (18 October 2022). "BJP single-largest party in Maharashta gram panchayat polls, but MVA trumps BJP-Shinde alliance". India Today. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.