Ending days of speculation about the alleged defection of six of the nine Lok Sabha members of the Shiv Sena (UBT), the six MPs publicly appeared with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday (June 22, 2026). They announced entering the Shiv Sena, and said they would continue to work under the leadership of Mr. Shinde. “We have completed the procedure in legal, constitutional and parliamentary framework. We do foolproof operations. All the six MPs have joined the Shiv Sena. Operation Tiger has been successful,” Mr. Shinde said on Monday (June 22, 2026) in the presence of party legislators, Cabinet Ministers and senior leaders.

Also read | ‘Operation Tiger’ successful, declares Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde

The Shiv Sena (UBT) hit out at the Shiv Sena and the BJP, claiming that it was a part of the larger plan to increase their majority so that they could change the Constitution. “The people of India stopped them in the 2024 elections. But all these things are being done so that they can change the Constitution written by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shinde stood hand in hand with all the six MPs during the press event. “We are all party workers here. Nobody will be disrespected. Your issues will be resolved with this double engine government. I assure you that you will not face any problems henceforth,” he told the six MPs.

With this induction, the Shiv Sena has strengthened its position as the second largest party in Maharashtra. Its strength in the Lok Sabha has now increased from seven to 13, increasing the party’s heft in the NDA ruling alliance too.

“Amit Shah and the central leadership have been co-operating with us. We will take decisions for the welfare of the party workers, for their constituencies,” he said.

‘The real tigers’

Appreciating the MPs, Mr. Shinde said they all were the real tigers. “Four years ago, on June 22, 2022, we had rebelled in the Shiv Sena. There were 40 MLAs with us. We were told that we will never get re-elected. But here we are today. Four years later, we have hit a sixer. In 2022, we had rebelled to save the Shiv Sena and the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. This is the second stage of our rebellion,” Mr. Shinde said. Key leaders who played an instrumental role in this operation were felicitated on the stage. They included Tanaji Sawant, Pratap Sarnaik and Dr. Shrikant Shinde.

Shiv Sena leaders claimed they had verified all the legal aspects of the process. The group of six MPs had formed a separate group which had announced its merger with the Shiv Sena, a leader said. He added that all the relevant processes were completed before the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The six MPs who joined Mr. Shinde’s Shiv Sena are — Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Dina Patil, Bhausaheb Wakchoure, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Bandu Jadhav.

Anant Kalse, a constitutional expert, said the six MPs had claimed a split and a formation of a separate party. “Their split must be recognised by the Lok Sabha Speaker. The party must be recognised by the Election Commission. This newly formed party should merge with another party as per Para 4 of Schedule Ten of the Indian Constitution. If this process is completed, we must know which is the other party in which the newly constituted party by these six MPs has been merged. There should be vertical split in the party. But if they claim that all these things are done, then they must have done it as per the constitutional provisions,” he told The Hindu.