Fresh Jolt to Uddhav Thackeray as 6 Sena (UBT) MPs Join Shinde Camp; ‘Operation Tiger’ Complete

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Mumbai: In a major political blow to Uddhav Thackeray, six Lok Sabha MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) formally joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Monday, reducing Thackeray’s strength in the Lower House to just three MPs from nine.

The defection, dubbed “Operation Tiger” by the Shinde camp, was executed through a series of secret Delhi meetings and coordinated travel by the rebels. The six MPs — Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Dina Patil, and Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar — met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on June 17 and submitted a resolution to merge with the Shinde faction.

Announcing the move, Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde declared, “Operation Tiger is now complete and successful… Four years back I took a strong step and now I have hit a sixer”. With this, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s Lok Sabha tally rises to 13 MPs, up from seven.

Why the switch?

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Rebel MPs cited lack of development funds and inability to get constituency work done while out of power. Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar said, “The Rs 5 crore MPLAD fund is very limited… I was not getting any development funds”. Sanjay Jadhav, MP from Parbhani, also pointed to a “fund crunch” as the reason.

Uddhav camp response

Uddhav Thackeray said he would “put forward our side” at the right time. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut called the defectors “traitors” and alleged MPs were offered Rs 50 crore to switch, a charge the Shinde camp denies. Aaditya Thackeray wrote on X that the MPs “proved their loyalty was for sale”.

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