Uddhav Sena leaders confirm party MPs in touch with Eknath Shinde

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve openly admitted here on Saturday that his party MPs are in touch with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

“Some people are in contact with Eknath Shinde. We all know it. There was talk that they were in touch every two months since the Lok Sabha elections. Now it is time to acknowledge it officially,” senior Shiv Sena leader Ambadas Danve said.

Advertisement

According to rumours and political speculation, 7 out of 9 Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MPs are in touch with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, with an intention to switch sides and defect, as part of what is being called ‘Operation Tiger’.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut reacted to Ambadas Danve’s statement and said, “The political chaos in Maharashtra is at its peak. At the right time, the people of Maharashtra will revolt against this. Those who are saying that they will lure away our party men as part of ‘Operation Tiger’ must first reveal how many times Amit Shah performed operations on them”.

Sources said that while Ambadas Danve was on a tour of Dharashiv district, Uddhav-led Shiv Sena MP Omraje Nimbalkar was absent from a review meeting presided over by Danve.

Speculation is rife in political circles that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Parbhani MP, Sanjay alias Bandu Jadhav, is in touch with Eknath Shinde. Later, Uddhav Thackeray made some changes in the party organisation in Parbhani district. For the past few days, Sanjay Jadhav has not been attending the meetings convened by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.

Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar had visited Deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s Thane residence. Similarly, Uddhav-led Sena’s Nashik MP Rajabhau Vaje had met Eknath Shinde’s son and MP Shrikant Shinde. Though both said that their meetings were related to development works and funds, political speculation about a possible defection refused to die down.

Later, it was reported that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Wakchoure met Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader and Industries Minister Uday Samant.

Meanwhile, sources said that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has called an important meeting of Shiv Sena MPs at his ‘Matoshree’ residence on June 14, Sunday, even as there is talk of a lure and bait strategy called ‘Operation Tiger’ being employed against his party.

Uddhav Thackeray has ordered all the MPs from Delhi to reach Mumbai to decide about forthcoming political developments and to chalk out the party’s future strategy.

According to political circles, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MPs are apprehensive that the BJP-led Mahayuti government will only grow stronger over the next 5 years, and they are worried about their political future, especially since they face difficulty in getting government funds to carry out development work in their constituencies. These MPs feel that if they become part of a party which is a constituent of the BJP-led Mahayuti government, which is in power in both Maharashtra and at the Centre, it will be easy to procure funds, sources said.

They also feel that the issue of party and election symbol has become secondary after the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena contested elections and got elected, the sources added.