Once again there are signs of a major political upheaval in the politics of Maharashtra. After six Lok Sabha MPs of Shiv Sena (UBT) joined Eknath Shinde faction, Uddhav Thackeray is going to get another big blow. On Friday, Gulabrao Patil, cabinet minister in the Shinde government, made a shocking claim that ‘Operation Tiger 2.0’ has started in the state. According to Patil, more than 14 MLAs of Uddhav Thackeray’s party are ready to switch sides soon and join Eknath Shinde’s ‘real’ Shiv Sena. Speaking to the media with a smile, Patil said, “Just wait for a while; more than 14 MLAs from the Uddhav group are coming to us.” Patil’s statement comes after reports of a secret meeting between four MLAs from the Uddhav faction and Chief Minister Shinde during the monsoon session – which is already in the news.
**Uddhav will leave the party with 20 MLAs**
Shiv Sena (UBT) currently has a total of 20 MLAs left in the assembly, out of which 10 are from Mumbai alone. These Mumbai MLAs include Aditya Thackeray himself, Uddhav’s cousin Varun Sardesai and Sanjay Raut’s brother Sunil Raut. Under the anti-defection law, if a faction wants to secede without losing its membership, they need the support of at least two-thirds of the MLAs. This means exactly 14 out of 20 MLAs will have to switch sides to meet the legal requirement, and the Shinde faction claims it is close to reaching this ‘magic number’.
The debate in political circles intensified after 23 out of 60 MLAs were absent from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) meeting two days ago – an absence criticized by Uddhav Thackeray himself who said the opposition’s unity should be visible not just on paper but also on the ground. Meanwhile, rumors also spread that Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar may join the Shinde faction. Responding to this, Minister Uday Samant commented that the opposition leader himself is in touch with ‘Shinde Saheb’. However, Wadettiwar later rejected these speculations and said that he was loyal to the Congress party. **MPs were sold for ₹50-60 crore; They are not rebels but traitors: Uddhav group’s sharp attack**
Amid reports of a possible split in the party, Shiv Sena (UBT) has adopted an aggressive stance. Taking aim at six MPs who recently left the party, a senior leader of the Uddhav faction said that people like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Chandrashekhar Azad were rebels who fought for the country’s independence. On the contrary, those who won on our party’s election symbol and then switched sides should not be called rebels but traitors; He sold himself for ₹50 to ₹60 crore. To save his remaining bastion, Uddhav Thackeray has launched a massive three-day political outreach campaign from Nagpur. He is visiting the constituencies of all the six rebel MPs – Yavatmal, Washim, Hingoli, Parbhani, Dharashiv and Shirdi – to connect directly with the public.
**Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackeray seen in the same flight**
Amidst the heated political atmosphere in Maharashtra, an interesting and shocking sight was seen in the sky on Friday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray were seen traveling in the same commercial flight. Aditya Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut were also with him. As soon as pictures and videos of these leaders inside the plane went viral on social media, speculations started in the political circles of Maharashtra. The news of Uddhav’s MLAs changing sides is common, but the sight of Fadnavis and Uddhav together has become a topic of discussion about new political equations.