Mumbai, June 23 -- Even as six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Monday, four Sena (UBT) legislators skipped an urgent meeting convened by party chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence, Matoshree, giving further grist to speculations about 'Operation Tiger' - the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) bid to engineer defections from opposition parties in Maharashtra - spreading to state politics. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has 20 members in the legislative assembly and five members in the legislative council. The four legislators who skipped the meeting on Monday were Wani (Yavatmal) MLA Sanjay Derkar, Parbhani MLA Rahul Patil and Kalina MLA Sanjay Potnis and legislative council member Sunil Shinde. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Varun Sardesai said that all four legislators had informed the party about pre-scheduled commitments. "For instance, Rahul Patil could not come for the meeting as counting was underway in Parbhani for the legislative council elections," Sardesai told reporters in Mumbai. The development came amid speculations that Operation Tiger could spill over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well, with the Shinde-led Sena claiming that several Sena (UBT) corporators were in touch with them and considering a switch. Like in the case of the six out of nine MPs who defected, the rebel corporators comprise more than two-thirds of the Sena (UBT)'s strength in the civic body, at 65, effectively escaping disqualification under anti-defection law, the Shinde-led Sena has claimed. Legislators who attended Monday's meeting in Matoshree said on condition of anonymity that Thackeray urged the lawmakers to stay united and step up their presence in the legislative assembly, as Sena (UBT) was the largest party in the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Agadi (MVA) bloc with 20 MLAs. He warned that attempts would be made to lure them, and expressed regret over the MPs' defection, saying they had sold their loyalty. ''They (Shinde-led Sena and BJP) are repeatedly trying to damage our party, but we will continue our fight. Reasons cited by the MPs for defection such as (lack of) development work in their constituencies are not true,'' one of the attendees quoted Thackeray saying. The Sena (UBT) will soon start the legal process before the Lok Sabha speaker and in court, seeking disqualification of the rebel MPs, party sources said....