Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) is heading towards another split as six out of nine MPs submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
on Wednesday. These six rebel MPs are Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Ashtikar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Rajabhau Waje. Sources told Times Now that these MPs will join Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena on June 19, coinciding with the foundation day of the party. Notably, political circles have dubbed it as "Operation Tiger" - an alleged effort to bring Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs into the Shinde camp. Earlier in the day, in what could be seen as a last-ditch effort by the Uddhav Thackeray party, it issued a whip directing all its MPs to attend a parliamentary party meeting in Mumbai. As per sources, those who will remain absent will face disciplinary action. Sources also told Times Now that Shinde's legal team has already arrived in Delhi to complete the necessary formalities and ensure the process proceeds without legal hurdles. Sanjay Raut Alleges Horse Trading: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday alleged that some MPs of his paty were offered "Rs 50 crore" to switch sides. Holding a press conference in New Delhi, Raut said the people of Maharashtra and Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs won't remain quiet if the party split is repeated. Out of the nine Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members, only three -- Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje -- attended the press conference. "I was told that the rate is Rs 50 crore and that Rs 15 crore each would be delivered by tonight. They were allegedly unwilling to board the aircraft without receiving the money," Raut claimed. However, he said the party had no official information about any split and that reports about some MPs breaking away were being learned through the media. In another swipe on his X platform, Raut claimed that a chartered aircraft had landed at Nanded Airport to pick up two rebel MPs. "A chartered plane lands at Nanded Airport under the guise of 'Operation Tiger', picks up two MPs and takes off. They didn't even have the means to travel by rickshaw once. Thanks to Thackeray's name, they are now flying in private jets," he said. Raut, along with Sawant and Desai, also met Birla at the Parliament House in New Delhi. 2022 Shiv Sena Split: Notably, in June 2022 also, Shiv Sena witnessed a split after two-thirds of MLAs backed Shinde as their leader. Later, the party symbol and name were allotted to the Shinde faction. After the split, Thackeray lost support in the Maharashtra Assembly and had to resign from the CM post; Shinde was then sworn in as the next Maharashtra CM.
