"Operation Tiger": 6 Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs to join Shinde faction?

Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel claims 6 Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs will join the Eknath Shinde-led faction under 'Operation Tiger,' criticising the Uddhav Thackeray camp. Aaditya Thackeray hit back, urging the government to focus on governance over politics.

'Operation Tiger': 6 UBT MPs to Join Shinde Faction, Claims Sena MLA

Amid speculation over "Operation Tiger," Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel on Sunday said that six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs would join the Eknath Shinde-led faction, asserting that the party would "take care" of them and criticising the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp for failing to retain its own leaders. He said the situation reflected internal weakness within Shiv Sena (UBT), adding that further political shifts under "Operation Tiger-2" could follow under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's leadership. Speaking to ANI, Patel said, "6 MPs will join today. After this, Operation Tiger-2 will be held under Eknath Shinde ji. They (Shiv Sena UBT) could not handle their own MPs, so, they came here. The party will take care of them."

Further, Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said, "This will strengthen the NDA." Maharashtra is currently witnessing a buzz over "Operation Tiger," the speculation that six of the nine UBT MPs were in touch with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and are looking to join the ruling party. In 2022, Shinde, along with several MLAs, broke away from Uddhav Thackeray, splitting the party into two.

Speculation Mounts Over MP Absences

The six MPs whose absence fuelled speculation are Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure.

On the other hand, Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Rajabhau Waje and Sanjay Raut attended the party's parliamentary meeting.

Aaditya Thackeray Hits Back: 'Focus on Governance, Not Operations'

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led central government, questioning its handling of key national issues, including infiltration, inflation, water scarcity, internal security and farmers' welfare. Reacting to reports on infiltrators entering the country, Aaditya Thackeray said the government had failed on the issue despite being in power for over a decade. "Whose government has it been for 12 years? If the government cannot stop these infiltrators in 12 years, then this is the failure of the BJP," he said.

Responding to the Chief Minister's remarks on "Operation Tiger," he said the government should prioritise governance over political operations. "I think you should talk about all these things, but you should also pay attention to the governance that you want to run, which is running very poorly," he added, questioning the state of foreign policy, internal security, water availability and inflation.

He further alleged that the ruling party was focusing on political exercises instead of addressing public issues. "Keep doing all these 'operation-foperation' things, but if you don't know how to run the government, then resign," he said. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)