Mumbai, April 10 Senior opposition leaders in Maharashtra on Friday claimed that there was a "sense of unease" within the Shiv Sena despite being in power, but dismissed as speculative reports that a section of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) will split and join the Eknath Shinde-led party.
They denied the possibility of any major political upheaval in the state in the near future.
Over the past few days, there has been speculation that the Shiv Sena has secretly launched 'Operation Tiger' in an attempt to induce defections among leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT). However, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the ruling Sena, on Friday dismissed these reports as "baseless" and said the aim of such "rumors" was to "create sensation".
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, "Despite being in power, there appears to be a sense of unease in the Shiv Sena, including among its top leaders like Eknath Shinde and his ministers."
When asked about reports that Shinde held a secret meeting with Sena (UBT) MPs in Thane and that there has been speculation that a section of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party will join the ruling Sena, he said, "What is the harm in meeting ruling alliance ministers for development works of their constituencies? I don't see any possibility of political realignment."
Not all the claims doing rounds necessarily reflect the ground reality, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader said.
NCP (SP) leader and former home minister Anil Deshmukh questioned the existence of the "Operation Tiger", terming it as speculative.
He claimed that Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to Uddhav Thackeray's party were united and firmly backed their leader.
Given this unity, the likelihood of any major political upheaval or split in the near future appears remote, Deshmukh said.
The Sena (UBT) has 10 MPs. This includes nine members in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha.
In 2022, Shinde led a rebellion within the Shiv Sena, breaking away from Uddhav Thackeray's leadership with a group of MLAs. He subsequently got the party's name and its bow-and-arrow symbol.