Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 14 : Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders on Sunday dismissed speculation of internal discord, asserting that all nine party MPs remain united after a meeting convened by party chief Uddhav Thackeray.
The meeting, attended by four MPs in person and five virtually, was described by party leaders as a routine interaction and not a special session called out of "necessity".
Party MP Anil Desai said such meetings of MPs and MLAs are held regularly.
While speaking to reporters, Desai said, "Regular meetings of our MPs and MLAs are held. There is no need of a 'necessity' to convene it. This is regular, there was nothing as such. Four of us came here and five others joined from outside (virtually) because they had some personal work. But all 9 MPs are united and together. There is no issue. All speculations in media are unnecessary."
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant stated the reasons for virtual attendance.
"One member has a sick child in the hospital, another member's wife is not well, and another member's daughter is getting married--so everyone needs to understand all these situations," Sawant said.
The clarification comes amid political buzz over an alleged 'Operation Tiger' in Maharashtra, regarding speculation over the possibility of opposition MLAs and MPs joining the Mahayuti alliance.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday held a meeting with party MPs at Matoshree in Mumbai. While some MPs were present, a few others joined the meeting virtually.
Those present included party MP Anil Desai, Sanjay Raut and Rajabhau Parag Prakash Waje. Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim) and Nagesh Patil Aashtekar (Hingoli) joined the meeting online.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the changing political situation following turmoil in the Trinamool Congress, which suffered a defeat in the assembly polls.
Trinamool Congress has seen an internal rift with a large section of its MLAs disagreeing with party chief Mamata Banerjee's decision on the Leader of Opposition. They have been recognised as "opposition" in the assembly. The party's parliamentary group is also on the verge of a split with a section demanding a separate seating arrangement in the Lok Sabha.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has also rubbished such claims, saying that all nine Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentarians had participated in a routine meeting."Four MPs were physically present in the meeting, and five of our MPs participated in this meeting through video conferencing. In this way, nine MPs were present in today's meeting with Uddhav Ji. Aditya Sahab was also there, Vinayak Raut was also there -- all these nine MPs joined today's meeting and a good conversation took place," Raut said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) has also seen a split in 2022 with a large section of its MLAs joining hands with the BJP-led NDA. At that time, multiple MPs also broke away and joined with Eknath Shinde. There has been speculation that some more MPs could join the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.
NDA returned to power in the Maharashtra polls in 2024.