Aaditya Thackeray warns of constitutional threat amid Shiv Sena defections

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader’s remarks follow reports of an internal crisis dubbed 'Operation Tiger,' which suggests that six of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs are preparing to defect to the Eknath Shinde-led faction. Thackeray condemned these potential shifts as a betrayal of the electoral mandate, noting that these members were elected through the collective efforts of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition. He argued that voters in these constituencies had explicitly rejected the NDA’s platform, making these moves a direct subversion of the public will.

Political tensions reached a breaking point after a parliamentary meeting in New Delhi saw only three of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs in attendance. While Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, and Rajabhau Waje were present, six others—including Sanjay Dina Patil—were noticeably absent. Sanjay Raut has since confirmed that the process to seek the disqualification of these absent members has commenced. Meanwhile, Thackeray accused the government of mismanaging public resources to finance these political maneuvers, claiming that while funding for employee salaries and welfare schemes remains scarce, the state has ample capital for securing defections. He dismissed the Eknath Shinde faction as a mere proxy for the BJP, insisting that his party remains the only authentic successor to the original Shiv Sena.