Emotional Uddhav offers to step down as Shiv Sena (UBT) president, Eknath Shinde hints at more defections

He made an emotional appeal to party leaders and cadres in the 60s^This On the foundation day of Shiv Sena (UBT), Friday, June 19, 2026, Uddhav Thackeray offered to quit as the party’s president if its leaders believe the allegations leveled against him by tainted MPs.

He also called for the launch of ‘Operation Lotus’ in response to ‘Operation Tiger’, which was allegedly carried out by the Shiv Sena to woo six of the nine Lok Sabha MPs to its side. Mr Thackeray also denied claims that his party was likely to merge with the Congress.

‘BJP’s dirty politics’

Targeting the BJP for being involved in “dirty politics”, he said that Generation Z, described as “cockroaches”, will bring about change in the country.

He lashed out at the ruling party for sending 2.5 lakh paramilitary forces to West Bengal “to defeat a woman” and challenged the government to deploy such personnel in Manipur or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “BJP is moving from ‘One Nation, One Election’ to ‘One Nation, No Election’,” he stated.

“We will have to do Operation Lotus. The politics of this country is eroding people’s faith in democracy. This is a threat to democracy. The path we are on now, we are heading towards anarchy,” he said.

Taking a dig at the MPs who have allegedly defected, he said that his party did not merge with the BJP despite being allied with them for 30 years. “And those who have left say they are afraid of us merging with the Congress,” he said while speaking to an excited cadre accompanied by his son Aaditya Thackeray, wife Rashmi Thackeray, party MLAs and MLAs at Mumbai’s Shanmukhanand Hall on Friday night.

Real heirs: Shinde

Meanwhile, during the foundation day event at NESCO Ground in the city’s Goregaon district, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde signaled further defections from the Shiv Sena (UBT). Without mentioning ‘Operation Tiger’, he said that ‘what has been seen is just a trailer and the film has not been released yet’.

He told the meeting: “The real heirs of Balasaheb Thackeray are my Shiv Sainiks. Succession is determined by ideology, not blood ties. Shiv Sena is not a piece of land; it is the ideology of millions of people.”

These incidents come amid turbulence in Maharashtra’s political scene due to speculation that six MPs from the Shiv Sena (UBT) are likely to defect and join Mr. Shinde’s Shiv Sena. This will reduce the party’s strength in Parliament from nine to three.

Shiv Sena (UBT) is an important ally of the opposition INDIA bloc. The party initiated a disciplinary investigation against these six MPs on the grounds that they did not attend the parliamentary board meeting. This is the second split to shake the party in the last four years. In 2022, Mr. Shinde had sided with 40 of the 55 MLAs of the previous State Assembly, demanding the original party and party symbol.

I do not run away: Thackeray

Responding to allegations made against him by renegade MPs that he was never available and did not get their time and attention, Mr Thackeray initially criticized them on Friday but made an emotional appeal to them towards the end of his speech. Stressing that the Thackeray family had never sought power, he said: “All these allegations are being leveled against me. You (defecting MPs) tell me. Do you believe in them? If yes, I am willing to step down right now. I have only one appeal. Do not let this Shiv Sena get into the hands of thieves. One of you should come up and I am willing to hand it over to you right now. You should answer those who level up against me. I don’t run away.” “I will stand strong, but I want your support,” he said.

He asked the squad if they were willing to stay with him if he did not fight in the elections or offer tickets. He expressed his gratitude to all party members for supporting him and his family for 60 years.

Hitting out at the BJP and the Shiv Sena for leveling accusations against the Thackeray family, he said nobody saw the sufferings that the family has had to go through all these years. He reiterated that the family was never affiliated with the government and that he had to assume the post of Prime Minister in 2019 due to the conditions at that time.