Shiv Sena's 'Operation Tiger' has been declared a success after six Lok Sabha members of the Shiv Sena (UBT) joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction in Mumbai on Monday. This move has reduced the rival Uddhav Thackeray-led party to just three parliamentarians in the lower house of Parliament.
At a press conference at the YB Chavan Centre, Shinde announced that the required process had been completed and all six MPs had joined the Shiv Sena. The MPs who joined the Shinde camp include Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omraje Nimbalkar, and Sanjay Dina Patil.
Shinde welcomed the six MPs into the Shiv Sena, saying they had joined the party that believed in the principles of Balasaheb Thackeray. He also mentioned that the six MPs had not joined for selfish motives but for their constituencies, and that their joining would strengthen the party.
The move has raised the Shiv Sena's strength in the Lok Sabha from 7 to 13 MPs, placing the party on par with the Congress as the state's largest legislative parties in the Lok Sabha.
