Mumbai:
Senior leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) have been unable to reach some of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs by telephone, with their phones switched off, as speculation of internal dissent intensifies and key figures move to the national capital.
Uddhav Thackeray and other senior party leaders are making personal efforts to persuade the MPs. Some parliamentarians have been described as “not reachable”. The party has scheduled a parliamentary committee meeting in Delhi for tomorrow, and several MPs from the Uddhav faction are travelling to the capital.
According to sources, MPs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction are scheduled to meet at Shrikant Shinde’s Delhi residence tomorrow early morning. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shrikant Shinde are likely to be present in the meeting.
In a parallel development, Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Lok Sabha MPs Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai are expected to arrive in Delhi on Wednesday. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut is already in the capital. The speculation of an imminent rebellion by Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, modelled tentatively on recent events involving the Trinamool Congress, grew stronger on Tuesday.
Ruling Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik indicated that dissidents would be welcomed and given priority if they decided to join the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
“If public representatives like MPs and MLAs do not trust their leadership… If they believe in the ideals of Sena founder Bal Thackeray and are willing to trust the leadership of Eknath Shinde, then the doors of the Shiv Sena are open to them,” Sarnaik said. “We will give them priority if they thought of it (anytime) in the future.”
His remarks followed a meeting in Delhi on Monday between Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Deshmukh and Union minister Prataprao Jadhav, who is also from the ruling Shiv Sena. Deshmukh had skipped a meeting called by Uddhav Thackeray at his Mumbai residence on Sunday, citing family reasons.
His subsequent meeting with Jadhav increased speculation about a possible switch of allegiance. Attention had already focused on the low in-person attendance at Sunday’s meeting. Of the nine Lok Sabha MPs, only four attended physically, including Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Rajabhau Waze and Sanjay Patil.
The others joined online or by telephone.
Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar and Sanjay Deshmukh attended virtually, while Sanjay Jadhav spoke to Uddhav Thackeray over the phone.
The five who did not attend in person cited prior individual engagements.
On Tuesday, Sanjay Raut, who travelled to Delhi and said a “wrong picture was being painted” and insisted that all parliamentarians remained firmly with the party and Uddhav Thackeray. Raut alleged that Rs 15 crore was being paid individually to “buy MPs”.
“To buy Maharashtra’s MPs… tonight, an advance of 15 crores each is being given, this information is shocking and disgusting!” Raut posted in Hindi on X.
अपना सपना मनी..मनी!
महाराष्ट्रातील खासदारांना विकत घेण्यासाठी…आज रात्री प्रत्येकी
१५ कोटींचा एडवांस देण्यात येत असल्याची माहिती धक्कादायक आणि घृणास्पद आहे!@Dev_Fadnavis— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) June 16, 2026
He ruled out any immediate threat to the party and expressed confidence in its ability to manage the situation. Raut denied that his presence in Delhi was linked to a possible move by some MPs to form a separate group, similar to actions by Trinamool leaders, and specifically rejected suggestions that he planned to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for this purpose.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has downplayed suggestions of an “Operation Tiger” by the ruling Shiv Sena to poach its MPs. The tiger was the mascot of the undivided Shiv Sena, drawn by founder Bal Thackeray.
Raut and Desai both rejected speculation of any split. The party has maintained that its cadre-based structure and long history of 60 years will help it withstand such challenges.
