Shiv Sena’s strategy to deal the final blow to its rival Shiv Sena (UBT) was signed soon after the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections; But the plan – titled ‘Operation Tiger’ – was implemented when the demarcation bill was rejected in Parliament, senior Sena leaders told HT. 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.
Initial feelers of the Sena’s four Lok Sabha MPs (UBT) — Nagesh Patil Ashtekar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh and Bausaheb Wakshwar — yielded positive results, as they had a good rapport with Union Minister of State for Health Pratap Jadhav. The aim now was to win over two more MPs – to meet the mandatory two-thirds threshold required to escape disqualification under anti-defection laws. The Sena (UBT) has nine Lok Sabha MPs.
Moreover, a Sena leader said, MPs were besieged by lack of funds and denied access by the party leadership.
According to Sena insiders, Sanjay Jadhav, who is seeking the union minister’s portfolio, was the first to publicly express his opposition and skipped party meetings twice earlier this year. After failing to attend a meeting in April, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray removed his close aides from their posts in Parbhani, Jadhav’s constituency. It is also believed that Jadhav helped Shinde exploit other MPs.
“This is a fight between Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. All the MPs (from both factions) maintain a strong relationship. Shrikant Shinde has cultivated the remaining MPs from the other faction over time so that they can defect,” a Sena MP said.
A close aide to Shinde said: “Convincing MP Dharashiv Omraje Nimbalkar was difficult as he was reluctant to switch initially. However, Nimbalkar had a strong collaborative partnership with Shinde when he was the urban development and public works minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government between 2019 and 2022. The relationship between the two broke down when Shinde split the Sena and joined the NDA. But he eventually managed to win over Nimbalkar.”
Former Congress MP and MP from North East Mumbai Sanjay Dina Patil who has moved to Sena (UBT) was also reluctant to jump the fences. “But while no one from the party came to see his wife Pallavi after she met with an accident recently, Shinde visited her in the hospital. Informal talks led to several formal meetings between the two and Patel was finally convinced,” a Sena minister said. “Patel has also been assured that his daughter Rajul – a Sena corporator (UBT) – may become an MLA in the future. Right now, he wants an assurance from the BJP that he will be nominated by the party in the next parliamentary elections – there is no clarity on this yet,” he said.
The selected MPs were flown to Delhi on a special plane from various locations on Tuesday evening, after a final round of discussions between Shinde and Shrikant. Sena sources also said, “While some BJP leaders were on guard about Shinde’s move through Operation Tiger, seeing it as his attempt to consolidate his stake in the alliance, they had to support the plan as the high command wanted it.”
