Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray has alleged that 'Operation Tiger' was orchestrated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to keep Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis under check, as he could emerge as a potential prime ministerial candidate in the future.
Addressing a gathering in Maharashtra's Hingoli on Saturday, the former chief minister said this was not 'Operation Tiger' but 'Operation Devendra', and asked why the rebel UBT MPs did not just join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but joined Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Amit Shah orchestrated this to "keep Fadnavis at a certain level so that he does not enter the (future) race for the prime minister's post," Thackeray was quoted by news agency PTI as saying. "If the need arises tomorrow, these rebel MPs will vote for Amit Shah for the post of prime minister."
The other aim of 'Operation Tiger' was to help the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government get a two-third majority in the Parliament to facilitate the passing of the delimitation bill, Thackeray said, criticising the ruling alliance for ignoring issues such as farmers' suicide and paper leak.
The UBT chief also targeted the defected MPs and said they betrayed Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. He said the defected MPs only won because people rejected the BJP; although he appealed to disgruntled workers to return to the UBT.
"Our MPs from Hingoli and Washim left us, and were defeated. Whenever MPs changed sides in Parbhani and Hingoli, party workers stayed with us while the rebels lost. I want history to repeat itself in Hingoli," PTI quoted Thackeray as saying.
The Sena UBT won nine seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Of the nine MPs, six joined the Shinde Sena on Monday, increasing the party's strength in the Lower House from seven to 13.
The six UBT MPs who defected are Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Dharashiv), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North-East), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli) and Bhausaheb Vakchaure (Shirdi).
The party has criticised the MPs, calling them traitors, and lambasted the BJP and the Shinde Sena for their defections. However, Shinde has warned that the Uddhav Sena could face more setbacks in the future.
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