Shaken by the recent defections, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said there can only be one Shiv Sena as the party’s legacy is built on protecting the rights of the Marathi people.
“The Shiv Sena’s political legacy was built around protecting the rights of the Marathi people and there can be only one Shiv Sena. In 2024 we fought against the coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and still won with the support of the people. Now by seeking power and money, these MPs have betrayed the party and the people,” Thackeray said on Sunday.
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Thackeray began an outreach program from Mumbai’s North East parliamentary constituency represented by dissident MP Sanjay Dina Patil on Sunday evening.
A rebellion within the Shiv Sena (UBT) pushed the Thackeray-led faction into crisis. Two of the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs on Sunday formally announced their decision to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, dealing a huge blow to the Shiv Sena (UBT) and likely paving the way for four more defections.
Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar’s decision to switch comes days after he indicated he would take a phone call after the verdict in his father Pawanraje Nimbalkar’s murder case, and Hingoli MP Nagesh Ashtikar announced his defection live on Facebook.
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On Saturday, a sessions court acquitted all the accused in the Pawanraj Nimbalkar murder case, after which Thackeray made a final attempt to convince Omraj Nimbalkar to stay within the party.
Operation Tiger and Defections in Sena (UBT)
The Shiv Sena has dealt the latest blow to its rival Shiv Sena (UBT) in a strategy signed soon after the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections; But the plan – titled ‘Operation Tiger’ – was implemented when the demarcation bill was rejected in Parliament, HT had earlier reported quoting senior Sena leaders.
According to people familiar with subsequent developments, Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his son Shrikant Shinde, the Lok Sabha MP representing Kalyan constituency, used the opportunity to convince the BJP leadership at the Center that the Sena could add to its numbers by urging MPs from the Sena (UBT) to switch.
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The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is said to be aiming to design a much larger crossover for the Shiv Sena (UBT) than previously thought. The party claims that as many as 45 Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators are considering switching — a number that would comfortably meet the two-thirds criterion required to avoid disqualification under anti-defection provisions.
BMC’s Operation Tiger
Latest reports suggest that the Shinde-led Shiv Sena aims to engineer a much bigger crossover of Shiv Sena (UBT) than previously thought. The party claims that as many as 45 Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators are considering switching — a number that would comfortably meet the two-thirds criterion required to avoid disqualification under anti-defection provisions.
The claim forms part of the Shiv Sena’s so-called “Operation Tiger” within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), where political chatter about possible defections has intensified in recent weeks.
Amey Ghole, Shiv Sena leader in BMC, claimed that interest in joining the Shinde faction was growing among Sena corporators (UBT).
“Not 25 companies, but at least 45 companies are aspiring to join us. Forty-five is the magic number as it constitutes two-thirds of the force. Sanjay Raut dismissed the reports of MPs defecting as rumours, but it eventually happened,” Gul said.
