Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday declared that "Operation Tiger" was complete after all six rebel Lok Sabha members of the Shiv Sena (UBT) formally joined the ruling Shiv Sena, marking another setback for the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction.
The MPs joined the Shiv Sena at an event attended by Shinde and senior party leaders, five days after skipping a key parliamentary party meeting of the Shiv Sena (UBT) in New Delhi. Only three Lok Sabha MPs of the Opposition party attended that meeting.
The six MPs who crossed over are Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal, Sanjay Jadhav from Parbhani, Sanjay Dina Patil from Mumbai North East, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar from Hingoli, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar from Dharashiv and Bhausaheb Wakchaure from Shirdi.
“My operations are foolproof,” Shinde said while describing the defecting MPs as “Dhurandhar” leaders with strong grassroots connections.
“Operation Tiger is now complete and successful,” he told reporters, adding that the Shiv Sena had become the second-largest party in Maharashtra in terms of Lok Sabha representation.
Operation Tiger was the name given to efforts by the Shiv Sena to engineer defections from the Thackeray camp and bring MPs into the Shinde-led faction.
The six MPs had won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against candidates fielded by the BJP and Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had secured nine Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the 2024 polls.
The defections are expected to strengthen Shinde's bargaining position within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which comprises the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCP.
Shinde said the MPs had now joined what he described as the “original Shiv Sena” that follows the ideals of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
“Four years back I took a strong step and now I have hit a sixer,” he said, referring to both his 2022 rebellion and the six MPs who switched allegiance on Monday.
Recalling the split in the united Shiv Sena that led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2022, Shinde said that move was undertaken to save the party and uphold Balasaheb Thackeray's principles.
“Now, this move is the second stage of Shiv Sena expansion,” he asserted.
Responding to a question on the future of the defecting MPs, Shinde said all six would contest the 2029 Lok Sabha elections on the Shiv Sena symbol from their respective constituencies.
Without naming Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, Shinde advised his opponents to introspect rather than abuse defectors, in an apparent reference to Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut's criticism of the rebel MPs.
“It is time for introspection for those whose party these MPs have left. They start abusing in the morning and change their tone in the evening and try to appease them,” he said.
Shinde said the MPs had consulted their supporters before taking the decision to switch sides and assured them of his full support.
He also promised that there would be no shortage of funds for development works in the constituencies represented by the rebel MPs.
