Mumbai, Jul 14

Amid speculation that the "Operation Tiger" strategy could now be replicated in the Nashik Municipal Corporation, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meeting of the party's corporators from Nashik at his Matoshree residence on Wednesday, in an apparent bid to prevent a possible split. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has 15 corporators in the Nashik civic body.

Political circles are abuzz with claims that around 10 to 12 of them are in touch with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and could switch sides at any time.  If that happens, it could significantly alter the political equations in the corporation. The development comes in the wake of the recent split in the party's Lok Sabha ranks, where six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs first formed a separate group before joining the Shinde faction.

Before that rebellion, Thackeray had called a meeting of the party MPs and issued a whip, but the six MPs skipped the meeting.

Following the parliamentary split, Thackeray held rallies and public meetings in the constituencies of the rebel MPs to retain the support of party workers and office-bearers.

He had also adopted an aggressive stand against the defectors.  Political observers will now be closely watching whether Thackeray's outreach succeeds in preventing a similar rebellion among the Nashik corporators.

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