Sachin Ahir, former Worli MLA, joined the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde on Tuesday and filed nomination as a Mahayuti candidate for deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Six Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs defected to the Shinde faction last week, reducing UBT to three MPs while Shinde's group holds 13. The developments follow the 2022 split in Shiv Sena that began with Eknath Shinde's rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray.