Are the 6 Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs gathered in Delhi playing a new political game, which may increase the troubles of Uddhav Thackeray? Is MPs’ phones being switched off and reaching Delhi through different routes a sign of some major defection operation? Has ‘Operation Tiger’ been activated again? Are the reports of closeness to NDA writing the script of another big rebellion like 2022?
Mumbai/Delhi: The same script of rebellion which was written by the MLAs in the politics of Maharashtra four years ago, is now being heard in the Parliament of the country. The way six Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) have dodged Uddhav Thackeray in a very secretive and filmy manner and moved to the country’s capital Delhi, has created an earthquake in the political corridors from Mumbai to Delhi. This secret journey of road trips, commercial flights and chartered planes starting from different cities has made it clear that Uddhav Thackeray is once again standing on the verge of facing the biggest political betrayal at the hands of his own lieutenants.
Different routes, same intelligence destination: How was Delhi’s Chakravyuh woven?
According to a report, to ensure that the Uddhav camp was not aware, these six MPs chose different routes and means instead of traveling together. Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar first drove himself for hours from Hadgaon to Hyderabad and then caught a commercial flight from there to Delhi. On the other hand, Yavatmal MP Sanjay Deshmukh and Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav reached Nanded Airport by road in separate vehicles and from there boarded a secret chartered flight and landed in Delhi. Similarly, Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar boarded a direct flight from Mumbai and Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Wakchore boarded a direct flight from his constituency. Mumbai MP Sanjay Dina Patil also reached Delhi in another chartered flight. By the time Uddhav Thackeray and his lieutenants sitting in Mumbai could understand anything, the phones of all these MPs were switched off and they had gone 1,400 kilometers away from the reach of the party.
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Fear of ‘Operation Tiger’: Advance of Rs 15 crore and Mahua Moitra’s taunt
Amidst the murmur of this high-profile defection, firebrand leader of Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut dropped a big bombshell on social media platform X. He alleged that the opposition camp is offering advance payment of Rs 15 crore to the MPs to switch sides. Raut wrote, “Apna Sapna Money Money! It is shocking and disgusting that Maharashtra MPs are being offered ₹15 crore each to switch sides tonight.” Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra also took a dig at this post, calling this amount quite “low”. In response to this, Raut opened the suspense and said: “No no – Mahua ji, the minimum support price for every MP is fixed at ₹ 50 crore. ₹ 15 crore is just an advance. Frankly speaking, these people are not even worth ₹ 50,000. Their price has increased only because of Shiv Sena and TMC brand label.”
Why did Delhi become the center of the great war: Preparation to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker
While the rebellion of 2022 was about capturing the MLAs and the state government, this war of 2026 is about political symbols and existence within the Parliament. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) had emerged as the strongest opposition force in Maharashtra in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In such a situation, this split within the Parliament can prove to be suicidal for Uddhav, who had re-established his organization with blood and sweat in the last four years. According to sources, these rebel MPs are going to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Delhi. The strategy is that first the legal process of forming a separate parliamentary group within the Lok Sabha will be completed and then the entire group will be merged into the real Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.
That bitter echo of 2022: Big game without resort?
For the people of Maharashtra, this entire incident is bringing back memories of 2022. The only difference is that this time there are no pictures of luxurious resorts of Surat or Guwahati, but in their place there are chartered flights landing on the runways of Delhi and the silence of mobile phones that have suddenly gone on silent mode. Leaders close to Uddhav Thackeray and the entire leadership are helplessly searching for answers, but in this maze of diplomacy, the Shinde group seems to be winning. Now all eyes are on the developments in Delhi, where another big decision of Maharashtra politics is going to be taken.