Six Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Monday switched to the rival faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.Declaring that “Operation Tiger” was complete, Shinde welcomed the six rebel MPs into his faction, hailing them as grounded, grassroots lawmakers and true “Dhurandhars” (stalwarts) of the state.The defections have reduced the Uddhav Sena’s strength in the Lok Sabha to three MPs and increased the Shinde faction’s tally to 13.The parliamentarians, who have switched sides are Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omprakash Nimbalkar from Osmanabad, Mumbai North-East MP Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal-Washim, Sanjay Jadhav from Parbhani and Bhausaheb Wakchaure from Shirdi.The breakaway group now has the required two-thirds majority to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law. The rift within the Shiv Sena (UBT) became apparent when six of its nine Lok Sabha MPs skipped a key parliamentary party meeting in Delhi. The rebellion soon escalated as the six MPs submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking recognition as a separate group.Explaining their decision, Ashtikar and Nimbalkar said remaining in the Opposition for the past two years had hampered development work in their constituencies. They argued that the Rs 5-crore MPLADS allocation was insufficient, and that the lack of support from the state government had weakened their ability to carry out grassroots development.In a Facebook Live address, Ashtikar said he harboured no personal grudge against Uddhav Thackeray. However, he accused senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, including Sanjay Raut, of using “harsh and abusive language” and showing lack of trust after the rebel MPs skipped the Delhi meeting.Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Jattvibeday described the act of splitting the Uddhav Sena’s Lok Sabha MPs an “operation” and said it had been successful.Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray’s son and party MLA Aaditya Thackeray described the MPs who switched sides as “greedy” and said their action had proved that their loyalty was “for sale”.“All those who are jumping sides now were elected on the platforms of the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) and INDIA (bloc) against the NDA,” he said on social media.The Shiv Sena had split in June 2022 after Eknath Shinde and 39 MLAs backing him rebelled against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government that also comprised the undivided Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.After more than a week of political drama, Shinde was sworn in as the Chief Minister with the backing of the BJP. He became the Deputy Chief Minister after the BJP-led NDA comprising the Shinde Sena, the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP retained power in the 2024 Assembly poll.