Mumbai, June 15 (IANS) A meeting convened by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence ‘Matoshree’ over the weekend has triggered fresh speculation over possible defections within the party’s Lok Sabha ranks, after several MPs remained absent in person.

While party managers aggressively spun a narrative of a unified front, the physical absence of the majority of its Lok Sabha MPs has exposed deep structural vulnerabilities in the Thackeray camp

Of the party’s 9 Lok Sabha MPs, only 4 were physically present at the meeting held on Sunday. The remaining 5 participated via video conference or phone, a “hybrid” arrangement that the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena (Shinde Sena) immediately mocked.

“Uddhav Thackeray ran his government via Facebook Lives. Now his MPs are doing the same,” jeered Shinde Sena spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre. “This shows their hold over the party.

The emergency meeting was called against the backdrop of whispering campaigns regarding “Operation Tiger” — a coordinated effort by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena leader to engineer a second major split in the Sena legacy.

For the MahaYuti alliance, poaching Thackeray’s lawmakers is an existential and constitutional imperative. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, a breakaway faction requires a two-thirds majority to bypass the anti-defection law and avoid disqualification. If Shinde woos just six MPs, he legally decimates Thackeray’s standing in Parliament, rendering the UBT faction a legislative rump and cementing his own claim as the absolute, legitimate successor to Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy.

It would also deliver a near-fatal psychological blow to the UBT group as the Supreme Court continues to deliberate on the validity of the original 2022 split.

While Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut dismissed the defection rumours, threatening a retaliatory “Operation Wolf” to poach Shinde legislators, insiders admit that the hunter currently possesses far more bait than the prey.

Thackeray’s MPs are facing a triple bind of structural pressures. Being in opposition is an expensive affair, especially ahead of crucial municipal and state assembly elections. Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav raised eyebrows last month by candidly noting, “Economic calculations are important during polls… it is impossible to say what will happen next.”

Ground-level politicians are finding it structurally exhausting to match the deep-pocketed machinery of the ruling BJP-Shinde alliance. As a member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition alongside Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, the UBT faction faces territorial concessions. MPs fear that sacrificing local assembly segments or municipal wards to allies to maintain coalition unity will permanently erode their foundational vote banks.

Despite Uddhav Thackeray becoming significantly more accessible post-2022, a persistent grievance remains among rural and semi-urban MPs who feel the party’s inner circle is heavily dominated by Mumbai-centric leaders.

Sanjay Raut spent the post-meeting press conference painstakingly detailing the personal emergencies of the five absent lawmakers: a daughter’s wedding preparations for Yavatmal MP Sanjay Deshmukh, a hospitalised wife for Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Wakchoure, and local MLC election duties for Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar. Yet, party insiders remain deeply anxious.

The leadership had reportedly instructed all MPs to remain in Mumbai through the weekend, expecting them to use Aaditya Thackeray’s birthday on Saturday as a public demonstration of undivided loyalty. The failure of five MPs to show up in person over those two days has been interpreted by many within Matoshree as passive defiance.

Compounding the anxiety are recent footprints of political signalling. In recent weeks, MP Ashtikar was spotted visiting Chief Minister Shinde’s official residence, Nashik MP Rajabhau Waje held a quiet meeting with the CM’s son, Shrikant Shinde, and Shirdi’s Wakchaure met with State Industries Minister Uday Samant.

Against this backdrop, Uddhav Thackeray’s immediate challenge is to transition from defensive damage control to active grievance redressing. The political observers remarked that if Matoshree cannot guarantee robust financial backing and absolute territorial protection for its regional satraps within the MVA framework, the “hybrid” presence in party meetings may soon solidify into permanent physical exits.

“Operation Tiger” is far from dead; it is simply waiting for the political temperature in Maharashtra to hit the boiling point.

(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in)

–IANS

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