Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Maharashtra on Wednesday, 17 June firmly rejected any involvement in the alleged political manoeuvre dubbed 'Operation Tiger', even as defection rumours swirled around the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction led by Uddhav Thackeray. The denials came from two senior party voices — one from Nagpur, the other from the state BJP's communications wing — and were pointed in their message: the turmoil, they argued, is of Thackeray's own making.

Bawankule's Denial and the Defection Rumours

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the BJP had no knowledge of or connection with 'Operation Tiger'. 'I have no information about Operation Tiger. I do not know what it is, who brought it, and why it was brought,' he said, adding that the matter was strictly between the leaderships of Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray.

His remarks followed reports that several Shiv Sena (UBT) Members of Parliament had travelled to Delhi, stoking speculation about possible defections. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had alleged that MPs were being offered advances of ₹15 crore to switch sides — a claim Bawankule dismissed. He countered that elected representatives do not change political allegiances for financial considerations alone, and suggested that the Thackeray-led faction should look inward to understand why its lawmakers were reportedly drifting away.

BJP Spokesperson Targets Sanjay Raut

BJP Maharashtra State Chief Spokesperson Navnath Ban sharpened the attack, asserting that neither the BJP nor the Shiv Sena had any role in the speculated operation. Ban attributed the internal unrest to factional disputes within the Shiv Sena (UBT), arguing that the party's troubles were self-inflicted.

Ban accused Raut of deploying toxic rhetoric and abusive language, claiming the conduct had eroded public standing. He further argued that political organisations cannot sustain themselves on emotional loyalty alone. 'Why are people abandoning your party? It is because you abandoned your father's legacy, discarded Hindutva, and tied yourselves to the Congress. The public has already shown who the real tiger is and who is running scared,' Ban remarked, predicting continued decline for the UBT faction.

The Governance Counter-Narrative

Bawankule also sought to redirect the conversation, reiterating that the BJP's focus remained squarely on governance and development under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The framing was deliberate: position the ruling alliance as working, while the opposition fragments.

This is not the first time Maharashtra's political landscape has been roiled by defection speculation. The state witnessed a dramatic split in the original Shiv Sena in 2022, when the Shinde faction broke away and aligned with the BJP, an episode that went to the Supreme Court and redrew the state's political map entirely.

What This Signals

The BJP's public disavowal — delivered through two separate voices on the same day — suggests the party is keen to avoid being seen as the architect of any fresh destabilisation, even as its allies and critics debate the origins of 'Operation Tiger'. Whether the denials hold credibility will depend on how events unfold in the coming days. With Maharashtra having seen one major political rupture in recent memory, the opposition is watching closely for any further movement among Shiv Sena (UBT) lawmakers.