Mumbai, June 18 -- Maharashtra was gripped by its third political crisis in four years on Wednesday after the Shiv Sena said that six out of the nine Lok Sabha members of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) had signed a letter to form a separate grouping and plan to merge with the Sena, sparking a furious response from the latter amid confusion about the actual number of rebels. The Sena, led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, said that six rebel Sena (UBT) MPs - Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Patil and Omraje Nimbalkar - had signed a letter stating they had formed a separate group. "Six MPs have formed a group. We are told that they submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker," said Sena secretary Kiran Pawaskar. A minimum of six MPs will have to form a separate group to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law. A Shiv Sena minister said that party MP Shrikant Shinde and state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik met the Speaker on Wednesday with the Sena (UBT) MPs. "The MPs have submitted a four-page letter to Birla, in which they have also said they have no faith in the party led by Uddhav Thackeray, adding that it has moved away from the principles of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray," the Shiv Sena minister said on condition of anonymity. A senior Lok Sabha official told HT there was no confirmation if the speaker had received any letter from either the Shiv Sena or any other party. Through the day, however, Sanjay Patil indicated they were not part of the rebel group, sowing doubts about the total number of rebels. Mumbai North-East MP Sanjay Patil said, "I have clarified that I am not joining any other party. I am very much in Mumbai today and will also attend the party's meeting scheduled for Thursday in New Delhi. "I have neither received any offer nor been approached by any party or political leader," Patil said. His Bhandup residence in Mumbai was provided police protection amid the defection buzz. His daughter and Sena (UBT) corporator Rajool Patil said, "My father is in Mumbai and will go for the Shiv Sena (UBT) meeting of MPs. I don't know if he has signed the letter given to the speaker.'' Late on Tuesday, all six Sena (UBT) MPs travelled to Delhi and Shinde also rushed to the national capital, as did senior Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai, Shiv Sena leaders said. However, Sanjay Patil and Omraje Nimbalkar denied travelling to the Capital. Shinde camped in Delhi for 18 hours, where he consulted legal experts on various aspects of the proposed Sena (UBT) split, before returning to Mumbai on Wednesday evening. Rajya Sabha MP Raut, along with Sawant and Desai, met Birla in the national capital. In an expletive-laden press conference, Raut warned against any possible defections, saying those who wish to leave the party should resign and face the public 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," he said. Sawant said Sanjay Patil had called him to say he will be attending the party's meeting on Thursday. Raut alleged that the rebels are being bought. "I got a call from an important person. He said each MP was offered Rs.50 crore to leave the party. Rs.15 crore was given as an advance. I was even told the MPs were not willing to sit in the chartered planes till they were given the advance," alleged Raut. A senior Sena minister in Maharashtra said the rebel MPs were negotiating what they will get in return, which had put the brakes on the defection process. "Parbhani MP Sanjay Jadhav was assured he would be made a minister of state in the Union government but another MP is demanding a ministerial berth," the minister added, requesting anonymity. Two MPs were also demanding an assurance that the Mahayuti alliance will allot their Lok Sabha constituencies to the Sena during the next general elections and that they would fielded for the polls. Both these constituencies are with the BJP now. "Shinde conveyed both demands to the BJP leadership but there was no response until late on Wednesday," the minister said. On allegations that the BJP is engineering the split in the Sena (UBT)'s Lok Sabha unit, Maharashtra revenue minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule, said, "The BJP has nothing to do with Operation Tiger. We don't know anything about it." This is the third crisis in Maharashtra after vertical splits in the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party in 2022 and 2023. The developments come roughly a week after 20 rebel lawmakers of the Trinamool Congress proposed merging with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India and backed the National Democratic Alliance. After the meeting with Birla, Desai told reporters that they had submitted a representation to the speaker urging him to guard against any unlawful defection. "Under the law, one cannot simply merge with a party even if they have the support of two-thirds of the MPs. Only the original party can merge if a group has the required two-thirds strength," he said....