A legislative tangle in Maharashtra

T he 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.