MUMBAI: Capping a week of high drama and bitter accusations, the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday, with the Sena claiming the formalities needed for the breakaway group to cross over were complete.Mumbai, India - June 22, 2026: MPs Sanjay Dina Patil, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Omraje Nimbalkar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, who rebelled against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, joined DY CM Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena at YB Centre, Nariman Point in Mumbai, India, on Monday, June 22, 2026. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)“The required process has been completed. All six MPs have joined the Shiv Sena. Operation Tiger is a success,” announced Shinde, at a press meet at the Y B Chavan Centre in South Mumbai.The six MPs – Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Dina Patil – were present on the dais as Shinde made the announcement.Asked whether Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has formally recognised the breakaway group and their request to merge with his party, Shinde remarked, “We have completed legal, parliamentary and constitutional requirements.” There has been no announcement from the Lok Sabha speaker’s office yet.Earlier, on Monday, four of the six MPs – Ashtikar, Wakchaure, Jadhav and Deshmukh – were flown to Mumbai from Delhi by a special aircraft. Patil and Nimbalkar, already in Mumbai, drove to Shinde’s official residence at Malabar Hill.As soon as all six had assembled, Shinde drove with them to the Y B Chavan Centre, where he announced that they had joined the Sena. As he made the announcement, all six clasped hands and raised their arms in a show of solidarity.“The six MPs believe in the principles of Balasaheb Thackeray and I welcome these dedicated Sainiks. I rebelled in June 2022, when 40 MLAs joined me. Now we have hit a sixer. This is the second phase,’’ the Sena chief said. None of the MPs addressed the media.Significantly, two of the six MPs formally announced their decision to join the Sena on Sunday, the first public announcement from the rebel camp. Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar said he was switching sides for “political survival”, a day after those accused in the murder of his father, Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar, were acquitted. Among them is former Maharashtra home minister Padmasinh Patil, then with the NCP.Hingoli MP Nagesh Ashtikar, another dissident MP, said development work was “impossible from the Opposition”.Signs of a splitThe Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) was caught off-guard a week ago when it became apparent that ‘Operation Tiger’ was about to scalp six rebel MPs. Operation Tiger is the name given to the Sena’s efforts to wean away elected representatives from the Sena (UBT) camp, a strategy adopted after the 2024 assembly elections.Signs that a breakaway group was likely to made their move surfaced when Thackeray called a meeting of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs on June 14. Four showed up for the meeting in Mumbai, four attended online while one MP altogether skipped the meeting.According to the rebel camp, the MPs submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker on June 17, declaring their intention to form a separate group and merge with the Shinde-led Sena.The Sena (UBT) promptly issued a whip, directing all its MPs to attend a meeting of its parliamentary wing the next day. All six dissident MPs skipped the meeting. The same day, the party’s chief whip in parliament, Anil Desai, issued a show cause notice to the MPs, seeking their response within seven days. On Friday, Desai served them another notice, asking the MPs to respond within 24 hours. The party has not taken any further steps since then.On Monday, Shinde said the six MPs had not joined his party for selfish motives but for the sake of their constituencies. He specifically mentioned Nimbalkar, saying he would support him in his quest for justice. Shinde also addressed, their constraints in carrying out developmental work in their constituencies. “I will organise a meeting of all ministers so that the problems of all MPs can be solved immediately,” he said.Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Sena has raised its tally to 13, which includes the six rebel Sena (UBT) MPs. The Congress has an equal number of MPs from Maharashtra. One independent, Vishal Patil, is supporting the Congress. The BJP, meanwhile, has nine MPs from the state, the NCP (SP) has 8, Sena (UBT) three and NCP one.Shinde also said the six MPs will contest future elections on a Sena ticket. He said this as two of the rebel MPs had defeated BJP and NCP candidates when they were elected on a Sena (UBT) ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These MPs were wondering whether the BJP and NCP, allies of the BJP in the Mahayuti government, would allot these seats to the Sena during the next elections.Reacting to the developments, Sena leader Gajanan Kirtikar said, “The six MPS have formally joined the Shiv Sena and the formalities were completed last week. They are part of the Sena now and not a separate group.’’Sena (UBT) leader and MP Aaditya Thackeray, remarked: “To the greedy MPs who have hopped over, you only prove the following: Your loyalty, your reputation is for sale, shamelessly. The government is biased and uses public money, politically, as funds...The voters voted against the NDA candidates and for INDIA in your constituencies, and for all it stands for. Just accept that your greed got you to ditch all of it overnight, shamelessly.”Sanjay Dina Patil, Mumbai North-East MP and one of the six rebel MPs, said, “I had a problem with one man in the Sena (UBT). Uddhavji should have visited Bhandup much earlier. The Sena (UBT) wants slaves; they don’t want strong people in the party.’’