Thackeray ‘Cub’ Triggered Op Tiger? Aaditya’s June 19 ‘Promotion Plan’ Pushed 6 MPs Away?

Last Updated:June 17, 2026, 14:52 IST

Uddhav Sena was planning to officially announce a promotion or elevation for Aaditya on June 19, the party's foundation day, say reports

Did the rumoured plan to announce a larger leadership role for Aaditya, who is often called the Thackeray ‘cub’, on June 19, the party’s foundation day, push six of the nine Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) MPs away, leading to the ‘Operation Tiger’?

All you need to know.

What was the big plan for Aaditya Thackeray?

There were talks of a major reshuffle in the Uddhav Sena. Just as Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray had selected Uddhav Thackeray as the ‘working president’ at the Mahabaleshwar convention in 2003, sources had revealed that Aditya Thackeray was to be appointed as the working president of the party, according to News18 Marathi. The decision was to be officially announced on the occasion of Shiv Sena’s anniversary on June 19.

Aaditya was to be entrusted with this responsibility to make the party more aggressive and ‘tech-savvy’. After the talk of Aditya going to the helm of the Thackeray group, discussions also flared up in political circles.

What did Aditya Thackeray say?

Aditya Thackeray had recently said that there is a discussion on some news channels that I will be given some post in the party. However, he insisted there was no truth to it. He also clarified that there was no discussion in the party about what post he would be given.

Were Uddhav Sena leaders happy with it?

Multiple Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Shiv Sena (UBT) are reportedly unhappy with Aaditya Thackeray, with his style of functioning and his growing influence emerging as central triggers for the fresh political crisis, say reports.

According to NDTV and other reports, several veteran and senior MPs find the prospect of his further promotion within the party unacceptable.

Dissident MPs have directly cited a complete lack of facetime with Aaditya Thackeray. Sources note that several MPs sought appointments with him on multiple occasions to address constituency issues but were repeatedly denied.

Critics and rival camp leaders, including Sanjay Nirupam, have publicly alleged that “arrogance" and a disconnect within the core leadership duo of Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray are alienating party workers and elected representatives.

There have been allegations of insufficient political and financial support from the party, particularly during local body elections and personal campaigns.

The developments

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and Lok Sabha MPs Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai on Wednesday met with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the Parliament House in the national capital amid speculation of a rift within the party and reports that some MPs may break away.

Addressing the press conferences along with party MPs Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai in the national capital, Raut warned that the people of Maharashtra will not remain silent on this trustless act. He also warned the rebels and said those wishing to leave the party should first “resign from their posts" and face the people again. “If anyone wants to go, they can resign and leave. If such reports emerge about our MPs, then they should refute them. This time, the people of Maharashtra will not remain silent," Raut told reporters in Delhi.

Raut also levelled serious allegations, claiming that money had been offered to party MPs in an attempt to engineer a split.

“I have information that Rs 15 crore each was delivered to the MPs, after which they boarded charter flights from three places, including Nanded and Pune. We have issued a whip for the Parliamentary Party Meeting tomorrow. Arvind ji has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker," he said.

What next?

Shiv Sena (UBT)’s six Members of Parliament (MPs) are likely to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday.

A meeting of all the Lok Sabha members of Shiv Sena (UBT) will be held on June 18 at 11:00 am at the Parliamentary Party Office in the national capital.

Back in 2022, Shinde, along with several MLAs, broke away from Uddhav Thackeray, splitting the party into two.

With ANI, agency inputs

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Manjiri Joshi

At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci...Read More

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