India, June 22 -- In a major political development in Maharashtra, six Lok Sabha MPs from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) joined the ruling Shiv Sena faction headed by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday, marking a significant split within the opposition party.

The MPs joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena at a formal event in Mumbai in the presence of senior party leaders, just days after they skipped a key Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi.

The lawmakers who switched sides include Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East), Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar (Hingoli), Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv), and Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi).

These MPs had defeated B...