New Delhi, July 19 -- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) lawmakers with the Shiv Sena and allotted a separate seating arrangement for 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs. The decision came two days ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament that begins on Monday. The TMC rebels' plan to secure recognition as members of Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a nondescript party based in West Bengal, still awaits clearance from the Lok Sabha's top office. A senior official said that the merger issue of the TMC rebels was "under consideration" and "an appropriate decision would be taken shortly". Two TMC rebels told HT they were hopeful that it would be approved in a day or two. An internal circular issued by the Lok Sabha's table office on Saturday said, "Consequent upon the change in party affiliation of 6 members of Shiv Sena UBT in Lok Sabha, a revised party position in the 18th Lok Sabha is enclosed." The circular showed Shiv Sena with 13 lawmakers and Sena (UBT) with three. The circular also added that 20 rebel TMC members will sit separately. The changes come ahead of the all-party meeting on Sunday morning. The government has already invited the rebel TMC leaders to attend the meeting as NCPI representatives. A letter from parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju to rebel TMC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said, "Recently, you and 19 other MPs have joined NCPI, and have already requested the Hon'ble Speaker Lok Sabha for recognition which is under his consideration." Bandopadhyay also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening. The Sena is now the largest NDA party in Parliament from Maharashtra. It had originally won seven seats in 2024. But in June, six Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members - Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Patil - joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief Eknath Shinde, boosting the party's presence in Parliament and bolstering the National Democratic Alliance's numbers. "The process has been completed. All six MPs have joined the Shiv Sena. Operation Tiger is a success," Shinde had announced. If the NCPI move is approved, the NDA will have 319 MPs in the Lok Sabha, still short of 41 members....