- Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faces rumours of a potential split and defections to NDA
- Five of nine UBT Sena MPs missed a key meeting, fueling speculation of internal discord
- Sanjay Raut denied Uddhav's alleged comments on rebellion during the meeting
Is Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena headed to a 2022 deja vu? Is splitsville 2.0 in the works? There are rumblings within the UBT Sena and speculation is gaining ground that some of the party's MPs may be headed into the NDA camp.
While on record UBT Sena leaders are playing down the buzz, recent happenings have given fillip to the split talk. There is a strong speculation in political circles that seven of the nine MPs of UBT Sena are "in touch" with NDA leaders in Delhi.
What intensified the buzz was the absence of five of the nine MPs from a recent meeting called by Uddhav Thackeray at his Matoshree residence. While Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Sanjay Dina Patil and Rajabhau Waje attended the meeting, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Omraje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar were absent. The party later claimed that the five MPs joined online.
Of the five absent MPs, Bhausaheb Wakchaure on Tuesday denied the rift speculation and said that he was with Uddhav Thackeray, but added a twist in the same breathe saying "don't ask me about tomorrow".
Interestingly, the same five MPs also did not show up to wish Aditya Thackeray on his birthday just a day earlier.
It has also been reported that at the meeting, Uddhav Thackeray touched upon the issue of rebellion and told those present that "whoever wishes to leave, can do so happily". But the purported Uddhav Thackeray statement was denied by party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. "I was present in the meeting and Uddhav Thackeray did not say any such thing."
Intrestingly, on Monday night, Sanjay Raut himself fueled rebellion fears with a social media post on X, writing: "Meet Shiv Kundu, founding president of the Nationalist Citizen Party in Tripura. Believe it or not, 22 Trinamool Congress MPs officially 'merged' into his party! It seems Maharashtra's defectors will also have to find a 'Kundu' to save themselves!"
Why would Raut mention "Maharashtra defectors" in a post on Trinamool rebels, especially at a time when there's major talk of a split in his own party?
MP Sanjay Deshmukh added fuel to the fire. A day after skipping the "Matoshree" meeting, he went to meet Eknath Shinde faction Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav. Raut clarified that not much should be read in an MP meeting with a minister over his constituency related work.
Uddhav loyalist MP Anil Desai also said that Sanjay Deshmukh met the minister for some work. Denying any rift in the party, Desai told NDTV: "There is no truth in rebellion talks. 'Operation Tiger' has been discussed in the media for a year, but neither the tiger nor the operation is visible."
Putting up a brave front, Raut also told NDTV that if any issue arises in the party, it will be sorted out. "A tiger's operation is not easy," he said referring to "Operation Tiger".
Another Uddhav loyalist MP Arvind Sawant also called the so-called Operation Tiger "laughable". "Are there any tigers left? They have all been rendered toothless," he told reporters jokingly.
Now, all eyes are on June 19, the Shiv Sena foundation day. UBT MP from Nashik, Rajabhau Waje has signaled "major turbulence" ahead of the foundation day event. Shiv Sena's 60th foundation day event is scheduled at Shanmukhanand Hall in Mumbai, where Uddhav Thackeray is to hold a show of strength.
But Waje said he was not sure if he would attend the event. "I can't say right now whether I will be able to attend Shiv Sena's foundation day event in Mumbai on the 19th. I am returning from Delhi that day and have some programmes in my constituency too. After that, if I get time, I will decide about going to Mumbai."
UBT Sena has also called a meeting of all its MLAs on June 22.
