MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday sought to downplay senior MLC Sachin Ahir’s defection to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, saying his party was no longer surprised by leaders leaving despite being given key positions over the years.Claiming that the latest political developments had revived talk of “Operation Tiger”, Aaditya said the operation currently underway was not “Operation Tiger” but “Operation Devendra Fadnavis.”His remarks came hours after Ahir joined the Shinde camp and filed his nomination as the Mahayuti alliance’s candidate for the post of deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.Reacting to Ahir’s exit, Aaditya said Shiv Sena (UBT) had witnessed similar defections over the past four years and had continued to remain strong.“For the last four years, we have seen that even those who were close to us and received everything eventually left. So we do not consider this a shock,” he said.Referring to Ahir’s long association with the party, Aaditya questioned what more could have been offered to him, saying he had been accommodated in several important positions, including through the workers’ organisation and civic bodies.“He was brought into the ward committee through the NGO quota, his brother was given a position in the BEST committee, and he himself was entrusted with several responsibilities in the workers’ organisation. How much more could we have done?” Aaditya asked.The former Maharashtra minister also asserted that Worli would remain a Shiv Sena bastion despite Ahir’s departure.“Worli is the stronghold of Shiv Sena and it will continue to remain so. No one is shocked by people coming and going,” he said.Aaditya alleged that while “Operation Tiger” was once again being discussed after Ahir’s switch, the real political exercise underway was “Operation Devendra Fadnavis”, aimed at weakening the chief minister’s position within the BJP.“What is happening now is not ‘Operation Tiger’ but ‘Operation Devendra Fadnavis’. If a Marathi leader is emerging as a possible Prime Ministerial face, efforts are being made to clip his wings. This could be Devendra Fadnavis’ last term as chief minister, after which he may be shifted to the Union Cabinet,” Aaditya claimed.Stepping up his attack on the BJP, Aaditya alleged that the ruling party faced a major political challenge in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.“The 2029 election poses a massive challenge for the BJP. The very BJP that undertook a Rath Yatra over the Ram Mandir issue is today engaging in land theft and scams in Ayodhya. There will be a change in 2029, and the people of the country will not spare those who have committed corruption in Ayodhya and Ujjain,” he alleged.Ahir’s switch to the ruling Shiv Sena comes just days after six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs crossed over to the Eknath Shinde-led faction, dealing another political setback to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.
