Uddhav Thackeray accuses Amit Shah of engineering defections to curb Fadnavis's rise

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of orchestrating the recent defection of six of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Thackeray claimed the move was aimed at preventing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from emerging as a future contender for the Prime Minister's post.

Addressing party workers in Hingoli, Thackeray rejected speculation that the defections were part of a larger strategy known as 'Operation Tiger', instead dubbing them 'Operation Devendra'. He alleged that the defections were designed to create a bloc of MPs loyal to Shah within the BJP's future leadership structure.

"This is not Operation Tiger. In fact, I suspect this is Operation Devendra. There is a possibility that in the near future Devendra Fadnavis can be in the race of becoming Prime Minister and therefore moves have started from now itself to cut his wings. Ensure that no Marathi manoos reaches Delhi and keep him busy in Maharashtra only. That is why Amit Shah poached Shiv Sena MPs and sent them to Eknath Shinde," Thackeray said.

Thackeray questioned why the rebel MPs were routed through Shinde instead of joining the BJP directly, suggesting that this arrangement was meant to secure a future voting bloc for Shah. He also launched a sharp attack on Shinde, alleging that the Deputy Chief Minister was being used as a temporary political arrangement and would eventually be discarded.

"Write this down. Eknath Shinde's future is zero. Once their work is over, they will throw him into the dustbin," Thackeray alleged.

Responding to the rebel MPs' justification that they left for development, Thackeray questioned whether the defections would address issues like farmer suicides, loan waivers, or crop insurance. He claimed that the MPs had lost their courage to question Prime Minister Narendra Modi after joining the Shinde faction.

Saturday's rally in Hingoli was part of Thackeray's outreach campaign following the defection of six UBT MPs earlier this week, reducing the party's Lok Sabha strength to three. The defections mark the biggest setback for Thackeray since the 2022 split in the undivided Shiv Sena.

Thackeray also accused the BJP of betraying Hindu devotees over alleged irregularities in donations to Ayodhya's Ram Mandir. He said the BJP had no moral right to speak about Hindutva, calling for a 'BJP-mukt Ram' and announcing that Shiv Sena would lead an agitation to free Lord Ram from the BJP's influence.