Mumbai, June 23 -- Shiv Sena (UBT) suffered a major setback on Monday as six of its nine Lok Sabha MPs formally joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, ending days of speculation over a possible split in the party.

The six MPs - Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Dina Patil, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Bandu Jadhav - publicly appeared alongside Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and announced that they would continue to work under his leadership.

Declaring the success of "Operation Tiger", Shinde said all legal, constitutional and parliamentary procedures had been completed before the MPs joined his party. He added that the induction marked the second phase of the rebellion that began in Jun...