In Maharashtra's forever war of political faction, the most dangerous weapon is not ideology — it is arithmetic. And Eknath Shinde, the deputy chief minister who rewrote Maharashtra's power map once by splitting the original shiv sena in 2022, has just reminded everyone he still knows how to count.

Operation tiger, as Shinde's camp theatrically christened it, has concluded — at least for now — with six Members of parliament from the uddhav Thackeray-led shiv sena (UBT) crossing the floor to join Shinde's faction. According to telangana Today, Shinde declared the operation a success, though he left the door pointedly ajar: 'More shocks await the thackeray camp,' he said, a line designed less to inform than to unsettle.

On the other side, sanjay raut — uddhav Thackeray's rhetorical flamethrower and rajya sabha mp — did what sanjay raut does best. He called the defectors traitors and accused Shinde of running what he described as a 'bomb factory' of defections, according to telangana Today. Raut used the Marathi term 'gaddars' to describe the six defecting MPs, per the same report, deploying the political vernacular that plays well in the party's Konkan and mumbai heartland.

But here is what the press conferences on both sides will not tell you: Operation Tiger's real strategic significance may lie not in weakening the thackeray camp, but in strengthening Shinde's hand against his own coalition partner, the BJP.

The Arithmetic Beneath the Theatre

Strip away the dramatic codenames and the chest-thumping, and a cold electoral logic emerges. The Mahayuti alliance — bjp, Shinde's shiv sena, and Ajit Pawar's ncp — won a commanding majority in the 2024 maharashtra assembly elections, according to election commission of india results. But that very outcome created a problem for Shinde. The bjp, which won 132 of 288 assembly seats according to ECI data, has less reason to be generous with Shinde in future negotiations. Every major alliance renegotiation in indian politics follows the same script: the senior partner squeezes the junior one, and the junior partner's only defence is to prove it controls votes the senior partner cannot reach on its own.

This is precisely what Operation tiger appears to accomplish. By absorbing six sitting MPs — not MLAs, not corporators, but Members of parliament with their own voter bases and organisational networks — Shinde is not merely weakening uddhav Thackeray. He is building a dossier of demonstrated strength. Each defecting mp is a data point Shinde can place on the table when chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's team begins the inevitable 2027 seat-sharing conversation. The implicit message: I am the one who can deliver the Sena vote bank. Try replacing me, and you inherit a fight you don't want.

Raut's 'Traitor' Label Serves Shinde Too

There is a delicious irony in Sanjay Raut's furious denunciations. Every time Raut calls the defectors 'gaddars' — every time he accuses Shinde of running a 'bomb factory' of defections, as he did according to telangana Today — he inadvertently amplifies Shinde's narrative of dominance. In Maharashtra's factional politics, the ability to attract rival legislators is itself proof of power. Raut's outrage, however sincere, functions as advertising for Shinde's prowess within the Mahayuti coalition.

Raut has also accused the BJP's central agencies — the ED and cbi — of functioning as 'BJP's domestic servants' in enabling these defections, according to telangana Today. It is a charge that resonates with the UBT base but does nothing to stem the tide. The six MPs who crossed over did so without any anti-defection challenge gaining traction so far, based on available reporting.

The uddhav Question: How Much Is Left?

For uddhav thackeray, Operation tiger is the latest in a cascading series of losses. The 2022 split, which saw a majority of shiv sena MLAs side with Shinde according to maharashtra Legislative assembly records, cost him control of the party organisation. The 2024 assembly elections further reduced his faction's legislative strength, per ECI results. Now, the parliamentary wing — the last institutional redoubt — is being hollowed out. According to telangana Today, the six defections give Shinde's camp a majority of the Shiv Sena's total parliamentary representation, though exact seat-by-seat numbers remain to be independently verified.

The question that hangs over the thackeray faction is existential: at what point does a party that keeps losing legislators cease to be a party and become a movement — or worse, a memory? Raut, for all his verbal firepower, has not offered a structural answer beyond moral indignation and the hope that voters will punish betrayal at the ballot box. That hope is not unreasonable — maharashtra has a long memory — but it is a slow-acting remedy for an acute haemorrhage.

2027: The Real Battleground

The 2027 maharashtra assembly election is where all of this converges. Shinde needs to enter those negotiations not as a grateful junior partner but as an indispensable one. The six mp defections, combined with his existing mla strength, give him a credible claim to a larger seat share — and possibly to the chief ministership itself, which the bjp has historically been reluctant to concede to allies in Maharashtra.

Watch for two signals in the months ahead. First, whether Shinde pushes for more defections despite declaring tiger 'complete' — his own earlier statement that 'more shocks await,' as reported by telangana Today, suggests the operation may have sequels planned. Second, whether the BJP's central leadership responds by tightening its embrace of Shinde or by quietly building alternative Maratha-OBC leaders who could replace him. The history of the nda suggests that delhi rewards the useful ally — right up until it doesn't.

Operation tiger, in the end, is not a hunt. It is an insurance policy, written in the currency of defecting MPs, against the day Eknath Shinde's own coalition decides he is surplus to requirements.

Key Takeaways

• Six uddhav Sena MPs have joined deputy cm Eknath Shinde's camp under 'Operation tiger,' according to telangana Today, giving Shinde a majority of Shiv Sena's parliamentary representation.
• Sanjay Raut branded defectors 'gaddars' (traitors) and accused central agencies of enabling defections, per telangana Today, but his rhetoric inadvertently amplifies Shinde's image of dominance within the ruling coalition.
• The deeper strategic calculation points to 2027: Shinde is stockpiling parliamentary and organisational strength to ensure the bjp cannot sideline him during Mahayuti seat-sharing negotiations.
• Uddhav Thackeray's faction data-faces an existential crisis — the parliamentary wing was its last institutional stronghold, and it is now being systematically reduced, according to available reporting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Operation tiger in maharashtra politics?

Operation tiger is the name given to Eknath Shinde's systematic effort to convince MPs from the uddhav Thackeray-led shiv sena (UBT) to defect and join his faction of shiv sena, according to telangana Today.

How many uddhav Sena MPs joined Shinde's camp?

Six uddhav Sena MPs have formally joined Eknath Shinde's faction under Operation tiger, as reported by telangana Today.

What did sanjay raut say about Operation Tiger?

sanjay raut called the defecting MPs 'gaddars' (traitors), accused Shinde of running a 'bomb factory' of defections, and alleged that central agencies like ED and cbi were enabling the crossovers, per telangana Today.

How does Operation tiger affect the 2027 maharashtra elections?

The defections strengthen deputy cm Shinde's bargaining position within the Mahayuti alliance for 2027 seat-sharing negotiations, making it harder for bjp to sideline him as a junior partner.

Is Operation tiger over?

Shinde declared Operation tiger complete after the six mp defections, but had earlier stated that 'more shocks await the thackeray camp,' suggesting further moves may follow, according to telangana Today.