Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has accepted the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs loyal to former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray with the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.The decision effectively brings the six MPs under the Shinde-led party’s parliamentary fold in the Lower House. With this, the Shinde faction’s strength in the Lok Sabha gets a further boost.In a related development, 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs have been allotted separate seating in the House. However, the Speaker has not yet recognised their proposed merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).