Amidst the uproar of “Operation Tiger”, Uddhav holds a meeting of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs; all nine legislators indicate presence

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. File. | Photo credit: ANI

Amid intense speculation that some Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs might switch parties, party chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday (June 14, 2026) held a meeting of his faction’s Lok Sabha MPs in which all nine legislators attended virtually or in person.

After the meeting, the party’s lone Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said that all MPs are firmly with the party.

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Four MPs attended the meeting in person, four others marked their presence virtually and one MP spoke to Thackeray over phone, he said.

The meeting was held at Mr. Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshree’ in Bandra East area here in the afternoon.

The development assumed significance amid rumblings that some MPs might defect to the ruling Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, as part of ‘Operation Tiger’.

In a post on social media, Mr. Raut said four MPs, including three from Mumbai — Anil Desai, Arvind Sawant and Sanjay Patil — along with Nashik MP Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting in person.

Four other MPs — Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv), Bhauaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi), Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli) and Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim) — attended the meeting virtually, he said, adding that MP Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani) spoke to Thackeray over phone.

Raut said party MLA Aaditya Thackeray was also present in the meeting.

“All MPs are firmly united and loyally behind Shiv Sena (UBT). Now at least we hope it will stop!” he said.

An MP who was part of the meeting said that Mr. Nimbalkar attended the meeting online as his son was admitted to the hospital while Mr. Wakchaure is in Hyderabad taking care of his wife who is admitted there.

Mr Jadhav, who used to skip party meetings in the past, was also busy, he said.

Citing a similar reason, Mr. Deshmukh attended the meeting virtually, as did Ashtikar Patil, who is busy campaigning for his son, who is contesting the Legislative Council polls, he added.

The MP said party chief Mr Thackeray asked the legislators to monitor the disbursement of farm loan waiver money announced by the Maharashtra government and also coordinate with party MLAs whenever possible.

Published – 14 Jun 2026 19:28 IST