MUMBAI, June 23 -- Capping a week of high drama and bitter accusations, the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday, with the Sena claiming the formalities needed for the breakaway group to cross over were complete. "The required process has been completed. All six MPs have joined the Shiv Sena. Operation Tiger is a success," announced Shinde, at a press meet at the Y B Chavan Centre in South Mumbai. The six MPs - Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Dina Patil - were present on the dais as Shinde made the announcement. Asked whether Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has formally recognised the breakaway group and their request to merge with his party, Shinde remarked, "We have completed legal, parliamentary and constitutional requirements." There has been no announcement from the Lok Sabha speaker's office yet. Earlier, on Monday, four of the six MPs - Ashtikar, Wakchaure, Jadhav and Deshmukh - were flown to Mumbai from Delhi by a special aircraft. Patil and Nimbalkar, already in Mumbai, drove to Shinde's official residence at Malabar Hill. As soon as all six had assembled, Shinde drove with them to the Y B Chavan Centre, where he announced that they had joined the Sena. "The six MPs believe in the principles of Balasaheb Thackeray and I welcome these dedicated Sainiks. I rebelled in June 2022, when 40 MLAs joined me. Now we have hit a sixer. This is the second phase,'' the Sena chief said. None of the MPs addressed the media. Significantly, two of the six MPs formally announced their decision to join the Sena on Sunday, the first public announcement from the rebel camp. Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar said he was switching sides for "political survival", a day after those accused in the murder of his father, Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar, were acquitted. Among them is former Maharashtra home minister Padmasinh Patil, then with the NCP. Hingoli MP Nagesh Ashtikar, another dissident MP, said development work was "impossible from the Opposition". The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) was caught off-guard a week ago, when it became apparent that 'Operation Tiger' was about to scalp six rebel MPs. Operation Tiger is the name given to the Sena's efforts to wean away elected representatives from the Sena (UBT) camp, a strategy adopted after the 2024 assembly elections. Thackeray had called a meeting of the party's nine Lok Sabha MPs on June 14 but only four showed up, four attended online while one MP altogether skipped the meeting. According to the rebel camp, the MPs submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker on June 17, declaring their intention to form a separate group and merge with the Shinde-led Sena. The Sena (UBT) promptly issued a whip, directing all its MPs to attend a meeting of its parliamentary wing the next day. All six dissident MPs skipped the meeting. The same day, a show cause notice was issued to the MPs, seeking their response within seven days. On Friday, another notice was served, asking the MPs to respond within 24 hours. On Monday, Shinde said the six MPs had not joined his party for selfish motives but for the sake of their constituencies. He specifically mentioned Nimbalkar, saying he would support him in his quest for justice. Shinde also addressed, their constraints in carrying out developmental work in their constituencies. "I will organise a meeting of all ministers so that the problems of all MPs can be solved immediately," he said. Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the Sena has raised its tally to 13, which includes the six rebel Sena (UBT) MPs. The Congress has an equal number of MPs from Maharashtra. One independent, Vishal Patil, is supporting the Congress. The BJP, meanwhile, has nine MPs from the state, the NCP (SP) has 8, Sena (UBT) three and NCP one....