Two Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, Rajabhau Waje and Omraje Nimbalkar, on Wednesday denied being offered Rs 15 crore to defect to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The development comes amid growing speculation of a rebellion in the ranks of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.

“Nobody has contacted me, and therefore, there is no question of any money being offered to me,” Nashik MP Waje told a Marathi news channel. Dharashiv MP Nimbalkar toed the same line. “I am tired of answering this question…I have not been offered any money,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut had alleged on Tuesday that Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs were being offered Rs 15 crore to switch sides. The party has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him not to recognise any breakaway group of party MPs.

Waje said that he would always stay with Thackeray. “I was with Uddhav ji yesterday, and I will remain with him tomorrow as well,” he said. He also denied that Shinde or any other Sena leader had contacted him. “I don’t think they will contact me. If they wanted to, they would have done this long back,” he said.

On the emergency meeting convened by Thackeray at his Mumbai residence on Sunday, Waje said, “Four MPs were physically present, and five through videoconferencing.”

Sources close to the MP said Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav had led a delegation to meet Waje at his Sinnar residence in April. “During the meeting, he was urged to join the Eknath Shinde-led Sena,” a source said.

Denying the allegations, Nimbalkar, who is in Pune due to a medical emergency in his family, said, “What offer? If you know of any offer, let me know. The common man knows how I have struggled in life and how I have come up. So, they will not believe such speculation.”

Asked about a viral video of Nimbalkar and Shinde, he clarified, “The video is an old one, from 2019. It is being deliberately circulated to create confusion. I am going to take legal action.”