The legislative tangle behind the political switches in Maharashtra raises questions about the grey areas in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. On June 30, Sachin Ahir, a Shiv Sena UBT (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader, switched allegiance from Mr. Thackeray to Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The very next day, he was unanimously elected as the Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. He claimed that he had not switched parties, and that he was voted to power as an MLC (Member of the Legislative Council) in 2022 as a Shiv Sena leader. The vertical split in the party happened after he became the MLC, and therefore, on paper, Mr. Ahir has continued to be a Shiv Sena MLC.
This event seemed like a replay of an incident which happened in Maharashtra two years ago. On July 7, 2023, Neelam Gorhe, another senior Shiv Sena UBT leader and the then Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, had similarly switched from the UBT group to Mr. Shinde’s Shiv Sena. She too claimed that she was elected as a Shiv Sena leader in 2020 and that she had not changed parties.
In 2022, the Shiv Sena faced an internal rebellion wherein Mr. Shinde pitted himself against Mr. Thackeray and claimed to be the leader of the original party. While the Election Commission has handed over the original party name and symbol to Mr. Shinde, the matter is still sub-judice in the Supreme Court.
Two years ago, Mr. Thackeray’s party had sought Ms. Gorhe’s disqualification as an MLC. Currently, it is mulling on the possibility of legal action against Mr. Ahir.
Mr. Ahir’s is not the only switch which drew political attention in the last few weeks in Maharashtra. Six of the nine Lok Sabha MPs of the UBT group also moved over to Mr. Shinde’s Shiv Sena last month.
Consequences of defection
All these switches have led to discussions about whether these legislators can be disqualified. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the provisions of the disqualification of legislators.
At the heart of Mr. Ahir’s change in loyalty is Paragraph 5 of the Tenth Schedule.
Paragraph 5 gives the grounds for exemption from disqualification. It says that the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker or the Chairperson or the Deputy Chairperson shall not be disqualified if “he, by reason of his election to such office, voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party to which he belonged immediately before such election and does not, so long as he continues to hold such office thereafter, rejoin that political party or become a member of another political party.” Mr. Ahir filed his nomination papers for the Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council in the presence of the Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers. He was elected unopposed to the position just 24 hours after changing loyalties. However, importantly, both Mr. Ahir as well as the Shiv Sena have claimed that the legislative records show Mr. Ahir as Shiv Sena MLC, and not as a Shiv Sena-UBT MLC. Therefore, the question of disqualification does not arise.
But legal experts say that the exemption is applicable only if the Deputy Chairperson wants to discontinue ties with the party he belonged to. He cannot claim allegiance to another party. In this case, Mr. Ahir’s legislative conduct for the last four years, from 2022 to 2026, shows his allegiance to Mr. Thackeray.
It will also need to be verified if Mr. Ahir had submitted an affidavit to the Election Commission supporting Mr. Thackeray during the legal battle for the name and symbol of the party.
The other contention is about the defection of the six Lok Sabha MPs. Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule pertains to how disqualification on the grounds of defection does not apply in the case of a merger. It states that a member of a House shall not be disqualified “where his original party merges with another political party.” Legal experts point towards the Supreme Court observations in the Subhash Desai case about the ‘umbilical cord between the original political party and the legislature party’. In this case, they say, it has been overlooked.
While discussions about the political implications of these defections have taken centre-stage, experts say there is an urgent need to address the grey areas in the 10th Schedule on a priority basis.
vinaya.deshpande@thehindu.co.in
Published - July 06, 2026 12:15 am IST
