Mumbai, June 22 -- Maharashtra ministers on Monday welcomed the joining of six Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MPs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, asserting that the party was expanding under Shinde's leadership and would emerge as the only Shiv Sena in the future.

Reacting to the political development, Maharashtra Minister Dadaji Bhuse praised Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's leadership and said, "We have seen the way Eknath Shinde is taking the state ahead, he worries about each and every worker... We welcome the workers who want to join Shiv Sena."

Maharashtra Minister Ashish Jaiswal said the development reflected growing support for the Shinde-led faction. "The future will have only one Shiv Sena under the leadership...