Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the six rebel Lok Sabha MPs who switched sides to join Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction, calling them "darrpok aur bekau" (cowardly and useless) rather than rebels, in remarks to reporters on Monday.
"They are not rebels but 'darrpok aur bekau'. They were elected in the name of Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and MVA against the BJP. Now, the BJP wants to include them in their 'daldal' so that they can change the Constitution of the country by achieving 2/3rd majority (in Lok Sabha)," Thackeray said.
He went on to draw a parallel with other opposition parties, saying, "The way our party was split, the same way TMC & AAP were also split. If there is law and Constitution in this country, then we can expect justice."
#WATCH | On 6 rebel MPs of his party, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray says, "They are not rebels but 'darrpok aur bekau'. They were elected in the name of Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and MVA against the BJP. Now, the BJP wants to include them in their 'daldal' so that they… pic.twitter.com/237Yd3g67q
— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2026
Thackeray's comments came as six of the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s nine Lok Sabha MPs — Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Omraje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar — were set to formally merge with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, a move that gives the Shinde camp the two-thirds parliamentary strength required to shield the defectors from disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The crossover follows weeks of speculation around an operation reportedly codenamed "Operation Tiger," after the six MPs skipped a Sena (UBT) parliamentary party meeting in Delhi on June 18 despite a party whip mandating attendance.
ALSO READ: Shiv Sena UBT Split 2.0: Meet The Six MPs Set To Join Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena Today
The rebels had approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate group, citing ideological differences with the UBT leadership and alleging the party was drifting toward Congress.
Uddhav Thackeray convened MLAs and MLCs at Shivalay in Nariman Point in an attempt to hold the party together as the crisis unfolded, even as Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shinde camp leaders asserted that the Shinde-led Shiv Sena now represents the legacy of Bal Thackeray.
Aaditya Thackeray's remarks reflect the UBT leadership's continuing effort to frame the defections as part of a broader pattern of engineered splits within opposition parties, alongside the TMC and AAP, rather than as a genuine political rebellion.
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