The Shiv Sena (UBT) faced another major political setback on Tuesday after party MLC and former MLA Sachin Ahir joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. His move adds to the series of defections that have weakened Uddhav Thackeray’s camp since the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022.

Soon after joining the ruling faction, Ahir filed his nomination for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. His decision came within hours of formally entering the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde confirmed the development. He said Ahir had officially joined the party and received the nomination papers for the Deputy Chairman’s election.

Photographs shared by the Office of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde showed Sachin Ahir submitting his nomination papers for the Deputy Chairman’s post in the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Senior leaders of the ruling Mahayuti accompanied him during the process. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other alliance leaders attended the event. They handed over the nomination papers to the Returning Officer. Their presence highlighted the NDA’s united support for Ahir’s candidature.

Ahir represented Mumbai’s Worli constituency as an MLA in the past. Political circles also know him as a close confidante of Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray. His decision to switch sides is likely to be seen as another symbolic setback for the Uddhav Thackeray camp. The party has continued to lose leaders through repeated defections since the Shiv Sena split in 2022.

Ahir has changed political parties several times during his career. He started his political journey with the Congress. He later moved to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Before Aaditya Thackeray made his electoral debut from the Worli constituency, Ahir joined the undivided Shiv Sena. His entry into the party helped strengthen Aaditya Thackeray’s position in the constituency at that time.

The latest defection comes less than a week after six Lok Sabha MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) merged with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The move further strengthened Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s hold over the party’s organisational and legislative structure. After the merger, Shinde described the mass crossover as the “second phase" of the 2022 rebellion that split the Shiv Sena.

Since the split, Eknath Shinde has retained control of the original Shiv Sena after securing the support of a majority of the party’s legislators. His faction later received official recognition as the Shiv Sena. It also got the party’s iconic bow-and-arrow election symbol. Meanwhile, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has continued its efforts to rebuild the organisation while facing repeated political setbacks.