Mumbai: Amid growing speculation over ‘Operation Tiger’, an alleged bid by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena to engineer defections from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), the latter on Sunday said all nine of its members in the Lok Sabha had attended a meeting convened by Thackeray in the afternoon.
“Four MPs were physically present, while five joined online,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut told reporters after the meeting held at Thackeray’s residence, Matoshree, dismissing concerns over ‘Operation Tiger’. In a counter jibe at the Shinde-led Sena, he said he would now launch ‘Operation Wolf’ to poach leaders from the rival camp.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former MP Vinayak Raut, however, claimed eight MPs had attended the meeting.
Speculation has intensified in recent weeks that some MPs from the Shiv Sena (UBT) may cross over to the Shinde-led Sena, which has launched ‘Operation Tiger’ to bolster its numbers in the Parliament and within the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). With the Shiv Sena (UBT) having nine members in the Lok Sabha, at least two-thirds or six MPs would have to switch sides to formally engineer a split in the parliamentary party and escape disqualification under the anti-defection law. Sanjay Raut is the party’s lone member in the Rajya Sabha.
Sources said the Shinde-led Sena said they were yet to get the required numbers to engineer a split in the Sena (UBT) parliamentary party.
On Sunday afternoon, the four Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members who turned up for the meeting in person were South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant, South Central Mumbai MP Anil Desai, Mumbai North East MP Sanjay Dina Patil and Nashik MP Rajabhau Waje. The remaining five MPs registered their presence virtually, Sanjay Raut said.
Among those absent physically were Parbhani MP Sanjay Bandu Jadhav, who had skipped a party meeting a few months ago as he was reportedly miffed with organisational changes in his region. Jadhav courted controversy last month when he signalled that money played a crucial part in polls.
“I will not betray those who shaped my career. But the current scenario is different. Economic calculations are important during polls, but it is impossible to say what will happen next,” Jadhav had said at a public meeting.
On Sunday, television channels showed Jadhav attending a kirtan in his constituency.
Raut, however, claimed that the MP had spoken to Thackeray and would meet the party chief within the next two days. He also announced that another meeting of MPs would be held next month.
Accounting for the absence of some lawmakers, Raut said Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar was preoccupied with legislative council elections in his constituency, where his son was in the fray. “He told us he is with Uddhavsaheb,” Raut said.
Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure had joined the meeting online as his wife was hospitalised in Shirdi, while Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar had attended the meeting virtually as his son was admitted to a hospital in Pune, Raut said. Yavatmal-Washim MP Sanjay Deshmukh had informed the party that he was occupied with preparations for his daughter’s wedding, he added.
During the meeting, MPs were instructed to forcefully raise the issue of farm loan waiver, sources said. Many Sena (UBT) functionaries who had visited Matoshree on Saturday to celebrate Aaditya Thackeray’s birthday were told to stay back and they participated in the meeting, the sources added.
Referring to feeble presence of MPs in person at Thackeray’s meeting, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre said, “Uddhav Thackeray ran his government via Facebook Lives. Now the MPs are doing the same by registering their presence online. The party had issued a diktat for all MPs to come for the meeting. Still, they kept away. This shows their (the Thackerays’) hold over the party.”
Several lawmakers from the Shiv Sena (UBT) camp have met top leaders of the Shiv Sena and the BJP in recent weeks, fuelling speculations of a political realignment. According to sources, Hingoli MP Ashtikar recently met Eknath Shinde, while Shinde’s son and Thane MP Shrikant held a meeting with Nashik MP Waje. Around the same time, Shirdi MP Wakchaure held a meeting with industries minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant.
Earlier in April this year, Ashtikar and Sanjay Deshmukh had attended a dinner party thrown by Shiv Sena leader and union minister Pratap Jadhav, giving rise to speculation about a rift within the Sena (UBT).
