MUMBAI: Amid reports of “Operation Tiger” being underway to trigger a split in Shiv Sena (UBT), and speculation that six Sena (UBT) MPs had reached Delhi on Wednesday, the party has issued a whip directing all its Lok Sabha MPs to attend a meeting of its parliamentary party in Delhi on Thursday at 11 am.The whip was issued by MP Anil Desai, the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha. The notice states that attendance is mandatory for all MPs. Sena (UBT) functionaries said party chief Uddhav Thackeray may also travel to Delhi to meet the MPs and attend the parliamentary party meeting.“All Lok Sabha members of Shiv Sena (UBT) are hereby informed that an important meeting of the parliamentary party regarding various issues concerning the party will be held on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 11 am at the Parliamentary Party Office, 128-A, Parliament House, New Delhi. All Lok Sabha members of Shiv Sena (UBT) must remain present for the meeting,” the whip stated.Late on Tuesday, Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting him not to entertain any claim seeking recognition of a separate group or a merger with another political party by any defecting MPs.Sawant said the issue of which faction represents the “real Shiv Sena” remains sub judice before the Supreme Court and that his letter was being submitted without prejudice to that claim. He was responding to reports that certain MPs elected on the Shiv Sena (UBT) symbol had either approached, or were contemplating approaching, the Speaker seeking recognition as a separate group or a merger with another political party in the Lok Sabha.Sawant is the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentary party.Reports earlier in the day suggested that six Sena (UBT) MPs had reached Delhi, triggering speculation that they could submit a letter to Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate group. Sena functionaries claimed that Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde was in Delhi on Wednesday morning and met some Sena (UBT) MPs who had arrived there. Shinde later left for Jaipur after the meeting.
