Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and his rival, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, clashed on Friday at separate functions to mark the 60th foundation anniversary of the regional party at the centre of a spiralling defection drama with national implications.Thackeray said he was ready to quit his post if the party didn’t have faith in him even as Shinde hinted at more defections from the rival camp. (Satish Bate and Raju Shinde/HT Photo)Thackeray said he was ready to quit his post if the party didn’t have faith in him even as Shinde hinted at more defections from the rival camp. None of the six rebel Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) was present at any of the events.Addressing supporters at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion, Thackeray asserted he had not lost his resolve to fight despite challenges and attacks. “I would be happy if someone from the party ranks becomes the next Shiv Sena president, but I will not let it pass on into the hands of thieves,” an emotional Thackeray said. “If the allegations being levelled against me are true, then I am ready to step down. I have no lust for leadership.”Shinde dared Thackeray to act against the six rebels and said the defections were only a trailer of a longer film. “If you have guts do it, but our men will give a befitting reply...They abuse their MPs in the morning and take a different stand in the evening. When I left, I was threatened with an attack and was told that I will have to pass through Worli (the constituency of Aaditya Thackeray). A helicopter was kept ready for me, but I took the road and passed through Worli,” the deputy CM said.Shinde was responding to Thackeray’s associates who have said that party workers will make it difficult for the rebel MPs to move around in the state.The developments came a day after the Shiv Sena (UBT) appeared certain to lose two-thirds of its Lok Sabha strength when six of its nine members in the Lower House defied the party whip and skipped a meeting of the parliamentary unit on Thursday.The party issued show-cause notices to the six MPs, who separately wrote to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and said they feared that the party would be merged with the Congress. In a four-page letter, the six MPs proposed to form a separate grouping, said a Shiv Sena leader.The rebels – Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East) and Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv) – are expected to merge with the Shiv Sena soon.This is the third crisis in Maharashtra after vertical splits in the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party in 2022 and 2023. The developments come roughly a week after 20 rebel lawmakers of the Trinamool Congress proposed merging with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India and backed the NDA, boosting the ruling coalition’s numbers in the Lok Sabha.The drama in Maharashtra began three days ago when some Sena (UBT) MPs stopped communicating with party leaders. Despite a whip, only three Lok Sabha MPs –– Arvind Sawant (Mumbai south), Anil Desai (Mumbai south central) and Rajabhau Waje (Nashik) –– and lone Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut attended the Sena (UBT) meeting in Delhi on Thursday.In his speech, Thackeray blamed the BJP for the split and pointed out that his party fought against the Congress for decades, but the national party never tried to finish the Sena. “But the BJP, which grew in Maharashtra due to the helping hand of the Shiv Sena and party founder Balasaheb Thackeray, is now trying to finish our party,” he said.“BJP’s greed for power is so much that it has started to split parties across the nation. This anti- democratic politics of the BJP is pushing the nation towards anarchy. It will destroy our nation. To save the nation from the BJP, now the country needs Operation Lotus,” said Thackeray. He also dismissed speculation about a merger with the Congress.In his speech, Shinde said that Shiv Sainiks were the real heirs of Bal Thackeray. “We revolted and this was a super hit. All in the state blessed us and re-elected us.”Shinde said that there were no differences between him and CM Devendra Fadnavis. He said the INDIA bloc was sinking and that even after losing elections, Rahul Gandhi was still the captain of the team. The deputy CM said parties such as the Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD and DMK have faced electoral loss whenever they have aligned themselves with the Congress.