Shiv Sena MPs to sit in Opposition benches in Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha sources said that the sitting arrangement of Shiv Sena MPs has been changed and Raut and Desai will sit in the opposition benches now.
The turmoil in Maharashtra after the assembly elections is set to have its ramifications in Rajya Sabha. With the Shiv Sena pulling out of BJP-led government at the Centre over differences in government formation in Maharashtra, the seating arrangement of party MPs in Rajya Sabha has been changed.
Sources have told India Today TV that Shiv Sena MPs Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai will now sit in the opposition benches during the Winter Session of Parliament, beginning Monday. Shiv Sena has three MPs in the upper house of Parliament.
Shiv Sena and BJP have parted ways following differences over power-sharing in Maharashtra. The two had fought the assembly polls together and won a majority in the results announced last month.
Shiv Sena insisted that there had been an understanding between the two parties on having the chief minister for two-and-a-half-years each. The BJP, however, has said there has been no understanding on the issue.
The Shiv Sena is now engaged in parleys with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress to form a non-BJP government in the state.
(With inputs from ANI)