India, June 20 -- Speculation about a rebellion within Shiv Sena (UBT) gained traction last week after Uddhav Thackeray convened a meeting of the party's Lok Sabha MPs. However, the roots of the unrest appear to trace back to a 20-year-old murder case whose aftereffects may have recently influenced the Sena's political narrative.

Six MPs - Sanjay Dina Patil, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Om Raje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh and Sanjay Jadhav - are expected to split from the party and support the rival Sena, part of the NDA bloc.

The rebellion buzz became evident when the six MPs skipped the Sena-UBT's Friday event celebrating party's 60th foundation day and Uddhav launching an all-out attack at the rebels. While the developm...