‘If You’re Mard Ki Aulad…’: Uddhav Thackeray’s Dare To Eknath Shinde Amid Rumours Of UBT MPs’ Defection

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Friday boldly confronted and challenged his former party associate and Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde regarding the significant departures from the UBT group. In reaction to media reports about his party members joining Shinde’s Shiv Sena, Thackeray challenged Shinde, stating that if he is a ‘Mard ki Aulad’ (son of a man), he should set aside the ED, CBI, Income Tax, and Police, and confront him directly.

“If you (Eknath Shinde and BJP) are ‘Mard ki Aulad‘ keep aside ED, CBI, Income Tax and Police and come and fight with us. We will show you which is the real Shiv Sena,” Thackeray said.Thackeray further warned that if Shinde attempted to “break us now, we will break your head.”

Thackeray issued the severe threat in response to Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant’s assertion that six MPs and a number of current and former Shiv Sena (UBT) MLAs were in negotiations to join the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. According to the reports, Operation Tiger is being conducted by Shinde’s Shiv Sena group in order to accomplish this. Operation Tiger preparations are finished, according to the Deputy CM.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has two Rajya Sabha members and nine Lok Sabha members.

In an effort to demonstrate their loyalty to the party, Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Omraje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Rajabhau Waje, Sanjay Jadhav, Nagesh Ashtikar, and Sanjay Deshmukh held a joint news conference on Friday.

Sawant denounced the attempts to “spread rumors” regarding widespread departures from the Thackeray-led party and said that none of the Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs had received any calls. The Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, according to the former Union minister, have supported the party through tough times and would do so in the future.

Since the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance only had 46 members in the 288-member legislature following the BJP-led Mahayuti’s November sweep to power in Maharashtra, the two parties have been at odds. The Shinde-headed The Shiv Sena defeated the Thackeray-led party, which only managed 20 seats in the 288-member house, by winning 57 seats in the most recent assembly elections.

When senior leader Eknath Shinde revolted in June 2022, Uddhav Thackeray’s party split in two, dealing him a serious blow. The MVA administration led by Uddhav Thackeray fell when 40 of the 56 MLAs defected to the Shinde group. The Shiv Sena’s election symbol, the bow and arrow, was also allotted to the Shinde faction. Uddhav Thackeray had to rename his faction as Shiv Sena (UBT). The issue of the party’s official name and election symbol is under litigation as Uddhav Thackeray has challenged the Election Commission’s order in the Supreme Court.