Jagran Correspondent, Mumbai | Rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs are scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday. Seeing the progress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MPs in Maharashtra may also take a surprise move.
Fearing the rebellion within the party following the TMC crisis, Shiv Sena (UBT) has called a meeting of its parliamentary party on Monday. In the meeting, convened at party president Uddhav Thackeray's residence, Matoshree, Uddhav Thackeray will personally speak to the MPs to decode their sentiments.
What Is 'Operation Tiger' In Maharashtra?
For the past several days, there have been rumours that seven of the nine MPs from Uddhav's party are planning to join Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. The plan is dubbed 'Operation Tiger.'
Uddhav's MPs Met With Eknath, Triggering Speculations
It has been learned that these MPs met with Shinde during his recent visit to Delhi. Previously, there had been speculation about seven MPs leaving the party. However, South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant, in front of reporters, wrote a lengthy handwritten affidavit guaranteeing that he would not leave.
According to sources connected to Uddhav Thackeray's Sena, all but two Mumbai MPs, Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai, have decided to leave the party in pursuit of a better future. They hope to join the ruling party in some capacity and get work done in their constituencies, thus creating a position for themselves to face the public in the next election.
Fear of Exodus in NCP (SP)
On the other hand, a majority of the eight MPs in Sharad Pawar's party are also considering switching. To prevent this exodus, Pawar is exploring the possibility of merging with a more powerful party (Congress). Just a day ago, former Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole revealed that Pawar had proposed merging his party, the NCP (SP), with the Congress.
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Discussions Of Merger Intensify
There has been no denial of this statement from Pawar himself or his party. His daughter, Supriya Sule, also responded to a statement by Sanjay Raut, who did not deny any such proposal. Instead, she called Raut's statement a "good suggestion" and said, "I don't know if this will happen."
MPs And MLAs Want To Stay Close To The BJP
Pawar is avoiding joining the BJP or the NDA due to his secular ideology. However, a majority of his party's MPs and MLAs want to stay close to power, because all these leaders have large businesses in the state. They have to look after their business interests along with their political ones. For this reason, there was talk of merging Pawar's party with Ajit Pawar's NCP. However, the merger was thwarted by Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash in January this year.
(With Jagran.com Inputs)