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Operation Tiger: A Night of Strategic Moves to Delhi
The recent political maneuvering that culminated in six MPs joining the Shinde Sena was formally announced on Monday in Mumbai, but it has been in the works for about a year and a half. Sources within the Shinde Sena revealed that after their significant victory in the November 2024 assembly elections, dissent began to brew within the Shiv Sena (UBT).
“For quite some time now, we have been trying to get these MPs on board as we were aware that they are unhappy,”noted a Shinde leader, highlighting the challenge of securing the required six MPs for a legal defection from their party.
Initially, Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar was pivotal in rallying support among his colleagues, successfully persuading fellow MPs Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Waghchowre, and Sanjay Deshmukh to join him. However, some MPs, including Dharashiv's Omraje Nimbalkar and Mumbai North East's Sanjay Dina Patil, remained staunch loyalists to Uddhav Thackeray. The situation shifted dramatically after TMC MPs defected from their party, prompting a swift acceleration of what has been dubbed Operation Tiger.
“This is just the Jhanki (trailer)... aur bahot kuchh baki hai (a lot more is to come),”declared Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, emphasizing the operation's success and hinting at further developments.
As rumors of defections swirled earlier this month, Thackeray summoned all nine Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs to a meeting at his residence on June 14. Only Patil attended in person, while others participated via video call. During the meeting, they made solemn vows of loyalty—Bhausaheb Waghchowre even swore on Sai Baba multiple times. Yet, their promises quickly unraveled as the disloyalty became evident.
“What to say now. They all turned out to be liars,”lamented Sanjay Raut, a senior leader in the UBT faction.
The decisive phase of Operation Tiger unfolded on the night of June 16, as chartered flights were dispatched. Patil was the first to fly to Delhi, landing around 1:30 AM, followed closely by Jadhav and Deshmukh, who arrived shortly after. Waghchowre took a detour through Hyderabad, while Patil and Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik flew from Mumbai, reaching the capital post-midnight. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde also made his way to Delhi after a meeting in Jaipur, arriving around 3 AM, and the last to land was Nimbalkar, who touched down at 4:30 AM.
The following morning, Nimbalkar met with Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla alongside Shinde’s son, MP Shrikant Shinde, who has been a key architect of the operation. Although there have been no official confirmations or photographs regarding the MPs' alleged support letter to the Shiv Sena, the MPs spent the night at a five-star hotel in Noida before dispersing to various religious sites across India. Meanwhile, a special CBI court acquitted eight individuals in a high-profile murder case involving Nimbalkar's father, which may have influenced his decision-making in the wake of the verdict. A source close to the Shinde Sena remarked,
“Eknath Shinde ji assured him that he and Shiv Sena are with him and he need not worry at all.”
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