MUMBAI, June 18 -- At least three private aircraft were chartered to actualise Operation Tiger - a nickname coined by the Shiv Sena to win over six Lok Sabha MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) - on Tuesday night. The aircraft were positioned at Nanded, Pune and Mumbai to fly out Sena (UBT) rebels, with Sena functionaries stationed at each airport to keep guard and ensure smooth transit, said people aware of the matter from Shiv Sena. As the first aircraft landed in Nanded airport to pick up two Sena (UBT) MPs, party leader Sanjay Raut lampooned the move with a post on X stating that party had run out of money to hire an autorickshaw - a jibe at Sena chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde's humble beginnings as an autorickshaw driver. Thanks to the Thackeray name, the MPs can now travel in private jets, Raut added, posting a picture of Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft with call sign VT NSG at Nanded airport. The aircraft incidentally belongs to the fleet operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, a company previously mired in controversy following the fatal crash of one of its aircraft carrying former NCP chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in Baramati. Sena (UBT) MPs Nagesh Ashtikar and Sanjay Jadhav flew from Nanded to Delhi in a VSR Ventures aircraft, although V K Singh, owner of the company said that he was unaware if any of his aircraft were used. A second aircraft was stationed at Pune to ferry Dharashiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar, who was in the city tending to his son at a hospital. Sources in Sena said, Nimbalkar was supposed to fly from Pune to Navi Mumbai, to make the onward journey to Delhi. But plans were changed at the last minute and his flight was diverted from Pune straight to Delhi. The third aircraft was stationed in Mumbai for Mumbai North East MP Sanjay Dina Patil, although it is not clear if Patil took the aircraft to fly to Delhi. Commenting on the use of private aircraft by Sena to ferry MPs from the rival faction, social activist Anjali Damania told HT: "I wonder who is paying for these chartered planes - is it Shinde or someone else who wants the delimitation bill to be passed. Each of these flights cost several lakhs per hour." Earlier in the day, Damania held a press conference in Mumbai where she slammed Shiv Sena's current move....