Mumbai: Eight Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Shiv Sena (UBT) held a knee-jerk press conference in New Delhi on Friday to firmly state that they remain loyal to Uddhav Thackeray and have no intentions of switching sides.
About The Move
The move came after news of imminent setback for Thackeray with six of his MPs reportedly preparing to switch allegiance to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Sources said that as part of ‘Operation Tiger’, six out of the nine MPs from the Thackeray faction may soon align with the Shinde camp. Additionally, sources indicated that the BJP is supporting this move. The plan had been in discussion for several days, but the anti-defection law posed a challenge, insiders said.
To avoid legal repercussions, at least six of the nine UBT MPs must defect together. Any smaller group attempting to break away could face disqualification under the law. This issue, incidentally, became the focus of UBT’s Shiv Bandhan event on Friday, where Thackeray openly dared Mahayuti to break his party. “You keep the government machinery aside and try to break even a single Shiv Sainik! If you truly have the courage, then prove it.”
Thackeray also said that the Maharashtra elections were won through “a new kind of fraud”. “We will show you which is the real Shiv Sena. If you try to break us now, we will break your head,” Thackeray said. He alleged, “Lakhs of fake voters were created, and a massive number of new voters were registered. This entire matter must be investigated.
A conspiracy is being hatched to weaken and destroy Mumbai, Maharashtra, and the BMC.” Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut said, “What Operation Tiger? Devendra Fadnavis is conducting operations on them daily. They are being humiliated every day. The Shinde faction is nothing more than an appendix, which can be removed at any time.”
