Maharashtra Shiv Sena (UBT) split as six MPs join Ek Nath Shinde faction in Operation Tiger

Six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs defied party whips and traveled to Delhi in mid‑June, meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submitting a proposal that the party had drifted from its ideological base and was seeking a merger with the Congress. The rebels aligned with Deputy Chief Minister Ek Nath Shinde’s faction, giving it a two‑thirds majority in the party’s parliamentary group and prompting demands for the disqualification of the dissenters.

The faction, dubbed “Operation Tiger,” arranged secret travel and accommodation for the MPs, later moving them to safe locations across Maharashtra after the meeting. Shinde’s camp has sought formal recognition of the split and is preparing legal steps to cement its majority.

Maharashtra mayor Kishori Pednekar accused the operation of being backed by the BJP, saying, “It is not only Ek Nath Shinde behind Operation Tiger; it has BJP’s support to undermine democracy,” and warned that funds are being withheld to silence elected representatives.