Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena gains six MPs, weakening Uddhav Thackeray faction

On June 22, 2026, six Lok Sabha members of the Uddhav Thackeray‑led Shiv Sena (often called UBT) formally joined the faction headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The defectors – Omprakash Nimbalkar, Sanjay Diwan Patil, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagash Patil, and Bhausahab Vakhchoure – raised Shinde’s party strength in the lower house from seven to thirteen members, satisfying the two‑thirds threshold required under the anti‑defection law.

Shinde hailed the move as “Operation Tiger” and welcomed the new members, while Thackeray condemned the switch, labeling the six legislators as traitors. The realignment makes Shinde’s Shiv Sena the second‑largest party in Maharashtra and intensifies the political rift that began earlier in the year.

The development is expected to bolster the Shinde government’s legislative footing and could trigger a statewide mobilization campaign by Thackeray’s camp ahead of upcoming elections.