India, June 19 -- Shiv Sena's strategy to deal the final blow to its rival Shiv Sena (UBT) was inked soon after the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections; but the plan was actioned - under the label 'Operation Tiger' -- when the delimitation bill was defeated in the Parliament, said top Sena leaders to HT. According to people aware of subsequent developments, Sena chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and his son Shrikant Shinde, a Lok Sabha MP who represents the Kalyan constituency, seized the opportunity to convince the BJP leadership at the Centre that Sena could add to its numbers by urging MPs from Sena (UBT) to switch over.

The initial feelers to four Lok Sabha MPs from Sena (UBT) - Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanja...