New Delhi/Mumbai: Just days after the unravelling of the TMC, the Shiv Sena (UBT) appeared headed for Revolt 2.0 after the 2022 rebellion in the Shiv Sena as 6 of its 9 Lok Sabha MPs sent a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla stating that they constitute two-thirds of the UBT Sena’s tally in the Lower House and should be recognized as a separate group. The 6 MPs are set to join the Shiv Sena led by Dy CM Eknath Shinde, and the formal announcement of their move could be made any day.The Shiv Sena’s foundation day is on June 19 (Friday).The letter submitted to the Speaker states that this group of MPs will be part of the NDA. Six out of the total 9 UBT MPs are needed for the breakaway group to avoid disqualification under provisions of the anti-defection law.However, the Sena (UBT) claimed 2 of the MPs said to be part of the breakaway group, Omraje Nimbalkar from Dharashiv and Sanjay Dina Patil from Mumbai North East, have not signed the letter. Both Patil and Nimbalkar claimed they were not in New Delhi on Wednesday. But Shinde Sena sources said ‘Operation Tiger’ or the process of getting the 6 MPs on its side had been completed barring the public announcement.Except for MPs Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai from Mumbai and Rajabhau Waze from Nashik, the others were now part of the separate group, sources said. They are Nimbalkar, Dina Patil, Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Nagesh Patil Asthikar (Hingoli), Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi) and Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim).Nimbalkar, however, said he had decided to make his stand clear after June 20, and Dina Patil said he was in Mumbai. “I’m tired of this speculation. If something is going to happen, it will happen. There is no point in discussing this. I will not go anywhere for any rebel MPs’ list. I’ve not been invited by Shinde Sena, so why should I go to them? I’m not in touch with other MPs,” Dina Patil said.Sena (UBT)’s RS MP Sanjay Raut along with Sawant and Desai met Speaker Birla on Wednesday and asked him not to recognize any separate group of UBT MPs.The UBT Sena also issued a ‘whip’ for a parliamentary party meeting to be held in Delhi on Thursday, to see how many MPs are with it. It would be hoping that more than 3 LS MPs attend; if that happens, it will be a major setback for Shinde Sena as the rebel MPs’ number then would not meet the 2/3rds requirement for a separate group that then merges with a party.Raut, addressing a press conference in New Delhi with just three of the party’s MPs with him (Sawant, Desai and Waze), alleged there was pressure on Omraje Nimbalkar to join the Shinde Sena. Raut said that 20 years ago, Omraje’s father had been killed, and trial in the case was on. “If he joins Shinde Sena, he will get relief from court,” Raut claimed. The case is about the June 2006 assassination of prominent Congress politician Pawanraje Nimbalkar and his driver in Navi Mumbai. A special CBI court in Mumbai is scheduled to deliver its verdict in the case on June 20.Raut also claimed that Maharashtra’s MPs were reportedly being offered Rs 50 crore each, and Rs 15 crore was “just the advance.”In a post on X on Tuesday night, where he tagged CM Devendra Fadnavis, Raut had said, “Apna Sapna Money Money! It’s shocking and revolting that Maharashtra MPs are reportedly being offered Rs 15 crore each tonight to switch sides.”Reacting to Raut’s post, TMC MP Mahua Moitra claimed in a post on Wednesday, “Rs 15 cr? Saste mein kyo jaa rahe hai? Believe us, ours got Rs 4cr up front and Rs 1cr a month for next 36 months of term… Honey plus Money.”Raut responded to her, saying, “No no — Mahua ji, the Minimum Support Price is fixed at Rs 50 crore per MP. Rs 15 crore is just the advance. Frankly, these people aren’t even worth Rs 50,000. Their price has only gone up because of the Shiv Sena and TMC brand labels.”With Shinde Sena’s ‘Op Tiger’ apparently gaining momentum, the Uddhav Thackeray camp is staring at a second major rebellion after a gap of four years. In mid-2022, a majority of Sena legislators rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership when he was heading the MVA govt and walked away under Shinde’s leadership to form a govt with BJP.Some political observers said that while many are drawing comparisons with that Sena split, the latest developments are different. Three out of the 6 Sena (UBT) MPs now on the breakaway list had won the 2024 LS elections against Shinde Sena candidates in ‘Sena vs Sena’ contests. The 2022 split was claimed to be an ‘open rebellion’ against party chief Uddhav Thackeray for abandoning BJP and Hindutva and aligning with ideological rivals Congress and NCP, but the current split is being described as a ‘silent coup’, the observers said. Also, none of the 6 MPs have so far made any statements or allegations against the Sena (UBT) leadership publicly. “Many MPs like Sanjay Dina Patil were elected because of minority votes and other Congress votes from areas like Mankhurd and Shivajinagar in Mumbai North East. Other MPs too have benefited from Congress votes,” an observer said.
