Shinde Hits a Sixer: All Six Rebel MPs Quit Uddhav's Sena, Operation Tiger Declared Complete

In the most significant political convulsion to hit the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) since the original 2022 split, all six rebel Lok Sabha MPs formally joined the Eknath Shinde -led Shiv Sena at a public event in Mumbai on Monday, completing what the ruling alliance had codenamed "Operation Tiger" and sharply redrawing Maharashtra's parliamentary landscape.

The six MPs who crossed over are Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv), and Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi), all of whom had won their seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by defeating BJP and Shiv Sena candidates.

The rebellion first became visible when the six MPs boycotted a crucial parliamentary party meeting of the Sena (UBT) in New Delhi, defying a party whip mandating attendance. Only three Lok Sabha MPs , Anil Desai, Arvind Sawant, and Rajabhau Waje, along with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, turned up. The dissidents had also approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group, citing ideological differences and alleging that the party had drifted from the Hindutva principles espoused by founder Balasaheb Thackeray and grown too close to the Congress.

The numerical calculus proved crucial. Because the rebel group constitutes exactly two-thirds of the UBT faction's total Lok Sabha strength, they are legally positioned to bypass disqualification under India's anti-defection law. The Sena (UBT) had issued show-cause notices to the six MPs, with the threat of petitioning the Speaker for disqualification if responses were found unsatisfactory.

Speaking after the induction, Shinde declared that "Operation Tiger" had been 100 per cent successful , adding that he had "hit a sixer", a reference to the six MPs now in his fold. He described the development as the "second stage of Shiv Sena expansion", drawing a parallel to the 2022 rebellion he had himself led.

The reaction from the Thackeray camp was fierce. Aaditya Thackeray , speaking on the party's 60th foundation day, labelled the defectors shameless, ungrateful and corrupt, asserting that they had sold themselves out despite winning in 2024 entirely on the back of party loyalists. Sanjay Raut alleged that the MPs had been offered cash inducements of up to ₹25 crore to switch sides, pointing to the government's immediate deployment of Y-plus security for the rebels as evidence of a calculated conspiracy.

Uddhav Thackeray, who convened an emergency meeting of party MLAs at Shivalay in Nariman Point on Monday afternoon coinciding with Day One of the Maharashtra Legislature's monsoon session, struck a defiant tone, insisting he leads the "original and only Shiv Sena" and vowed to continue the political battle. Political analysts noted that after Sena (UBT)'s weak performance in recent local body elections, organisational morale was already low and a resurgence now appeared difficult.

With six of nine Lok Sabha MPs gone, Uddhav Thackeray's parliamentary group is reduced to a rump of three, raising urgent questions about the party's legislative relevance and its ability to consolidate ahead of future electoral battles.