After defection blow, Uddhav Thackeray strategises with MLAs to corner Mahayuti govt in monsoon session
MUMBAI, June 22: Declaring that “Operation Tiger is complete,” Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday welcomed six rebel Lok Sabha MPs from the Shiv Sena (UBT) into his faction, hailing them as grounded, grassroots lawmakers and true “Dhurandhars” (stalwarts) of the state.
The massive political coup formalises a devastating second split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and comes just five days after the six lawmakers skipped a crucial parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi, which was left with a dismal attendance of just three remaining Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs.
The dissidents joined the ruling Shiv Sena at an event at the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan in south Mumbai in the presence of its president Shinde and other senior party leaders.
The Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) who crossed over are: Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East), Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar (Hingoli), Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv) and Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi).
“My operations are fool proof,” said Shinde while referring to the six defected MPs as Dhurandhars (stalwarts/experts) who are connected to ground.
“Operation Tiger” is now complete and successful,” the Deputy CM declared while talking to reporters and added the Shiv Sena is now the second largest party in Maharashtra in terms of MPs.Notably, Operation Tiger was the name given to the Shiv Sena’s move to engineer defections in the Thackeray camp and wean over MPs to its side.
These rebel parliamentarians had won against BJP and Shiv Sena candidates in the 2024 general elections. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had bagged nine Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in 2024. The entry of the dissident MPs in the Shiv Sena is expected to give a boost to bargaining power of Shinde in the ruling coalition Mahayuti, which also consists of the BJP and the NCP.
THACKERAY HOLDS MEET WITH MLAs
Amid a political crisis in the Shiv Sena (UBT) after six MPs switched sides to rival Shiv Sena, party chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday met his MLAs to draft a strategy to corner the Mahayuti government during the ongoing monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature.
The meeting, held at the party’s ‘Shivalay’ office on the first day of the monsoon session, took place even as six Sena (UBT) MPs defected to the rival Shinde-led faction just 500 meters away at the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan.One of the legislators who attended the meeting said that Thackeray asked the MLAs to corner the government over a range of issues, including the farm loan waiver, pressing for complete relief instead of a partial one. (PTI)
