MUMBAI, June 19 -- Shiv Sena's strategy to deal the final blow to its rival Shiv Sena (UBT) was finalised soon after the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections; but the plan, "Operation Tiger", was put into action when the delimitation bill was defeated in Parliament, top Sena leaders told HT, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to people aware of subsequent developments, Sena chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and his son Shrikant Shinde, Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan, convinced 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, Sanjay Deshmukh and Bhausaheb Wakchaure - yielded positive results, as they had a good rapport with union minister of state for health Pratap Jadhav. The aim was now to win over another two MPs - to meet the mandatory two-thirds threshold required to escape disqualification under the anti-defection laws. Sena (UBT) has nine Lok Sabha MPs. Over and above this, said a Sena leader, the MPs were beleaguered with lack of funds and lack of access to the party leadership. According to Sena insiders, Sanjay Jadhav, who is seeking a Union minister's portfolio, was the first to openly express his dissent and skipped party meetings twice earlier this year. After he failed to turn up at a meeting in April, the Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray removed his close aides as party functionaries in Parbhani, Jadhav's constituency. Jadhav is also believed to have helped Shinde tap other MPs. A Sena MP said, "This is a fight between Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. Shinde cultivated the MPs from the other faction over time so that they could defect." A close Shinde aide said, "Convincing Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar was tough as he was reluctant to switch over initially. However, Nimbalkar had a strong relationship with Shinde when he was a minister in the MVA government between 2019 and 2022. The ties between the two broke when Shinde split up Sena and joined the NDA. But Shinde managed to eventually win over Nimbalkar." Mumbai North East MP Sanjay Dina Patil who had moved to Sena (UBT) was also reluctant to jump fences. "But while no one from the party turned up to see his wife Pallavi after she met with an accident recently, Shinde visited her at the hospital. Casual conversations led to several formal meetings between the two and Patil was finally convinced," said a Sena minister. The chosen MPs flew to Delhi on Tuesday night, after discussions between Shinde and Shrikant, the Sena leaders said....