Shiv Sena UBT Crisis Live: Uddhav Thackeray To Visit Constituencies Of Rebel MPs

Shiv Sena UBT Crisis, Maharashtra Politics Live Updates: Rebel Shiv Sena-UBT MPs arrived in Delhi today amid the buzz over ‘Operation Tiger’, two days after the leaders reportedly aligned with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the biggest parliamentary split in the party since the 2022 rebellion.

Sources told CNN-News18 that the rebel Shiv Sena-UBT leaders will join the Shinde faction on Sunday, June 21.

The rebel MPs are expected to stay at an undisclosed location in Delhi. A formal announcement will be made after the Lok Sabha Secretariat issues a bulletin on the matter, after which the MPs will address the media, sources familiar with the matter said.

Talks are ongoing over making ‘Operation Tiger’ successful through the strategy led by Shiv Sena leaders, Shrikant Shinde and Abhishek Verma, who is also the national coordinator of the party, they said.

3 Rebels Spotted With Abhishek Verma

In an exclusive photo accessed by CNN-News18, three rebel MPs –– Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Dina Patil and Sanjay Deshmukh –– were seen with Abhishek Verma in a five-star hotel in Delhi.

The six rebel MPs are –– Nagesh Aashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar, and Bhausaheb Wakchaure.

Talks over the split in Shiv Sena-UBT gained momentum after the six rebel MPs skipped a key parliamentary party meeting convened by the leadership on Thursday in New Delhi despite a whip issued by the high command.

Out of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs, only three –– Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, and Rajabhau Waje –– attended the meeting.

Sanjay Raut Attacks Rebel MPs

Amid the buzz over ‘Operation Tiger’, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday shared a cryptic message on social media.

Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP, posted an image carrying the Hindi message, “Kuch log kuttey toh hoty hain, lekin wafa’daar nahi hote” (Some people may be dogs, but they are not loyal), along with the caption, “Jai Maharashtra!”