Mumbai, Jan 10 (IANS): In a major ruling, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday declared that the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the "real" Shiv Sena after the vertical split in the party on June 21, 2022.

Accordingly, the prospect of disqualification over all the 16 MLAs, including Shinde, was rendered infructuous, rejecting the contention of the Shiv Sena-UBT.

The Speaker also held that the then Chief Whip Sunil Prabhu ceased to reflect the will of the party to continue in the post, as the new Chief Whip Bharat Gogawale was the validly elected Chief Whip after the rival faction emerged.

The Speaker's much-awaited verdict came as a huge relief to Chief Minister Shinde and a major blow to the Shiv Sena-UBT, led by ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray, who had contested the claims of the breakaway group.

The Speaker has rejected several other claims and contentions made in the SS-UBT plea, challenging the Shinde faction, even as huge celebrations were started by the ruling Shiv Sena activists in Mumbai and other parts of the state.