MUMBAI, June 18 -- The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's move to get six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs to switch sides took a turn on Wednesday, with the rebel MPs informing the Lok Sabha speaker that they have formed a separate group and plan to merge with the Sena. Even as the Sena stepped up its efforts to get the group to cross over, the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp fought back to avert a split in the party's Lok Sabha unit. The Sena (UBT)'s group leader in the Lok Sabha, Arvind Sawant, on Wednesday issued a whip, asking all nine Lok Sabha MPs to attend a meeting of the party's parliamentary unit at 11 am on Thursday in New Delhi. Sawant also wrote to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla urning him not to recognise any group of Sena (UBT) MPs. This follows claims from the Sena that all six rebel Sena (UBT) MPs-Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Patil and Omraje Nimbalkar-had submitted a letter to the speaker, saying they had formed a separate group and have decided to join the Sena. "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," said a key Sena minister from Maharashtra. Sena MP Shrikant Shinde and state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik met the speaker on Wednesday with the MPs, the minister said. The provisions of the anti-defection law would not apply to the MPs as the breakaway group comprises two-thirds of the nine Sena (UBT) MPs in the lower house, meeting the minimum requirement. The rebel group has also written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), keeping it abreast of the developments, the Sena minister added. However, a senior Lok Sabha official told HT there is no confirmation if the speaker has received any letter from either the Shiv Sena or any other party. "No letter, physical or by email, has been received by the Election Commission of India from any faction of the Shiv Sena staking a claim on the party," a senior ECI official said on Wednesday night. Tuesday saw high drama as four Sena (UBT) MPs were airlifted by the Sena to New Delhi. Sena chief Eknath Shinde too rushed to the national capital, as did senior Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai. While some clarity may emerge on Thursday, for now, it is unclear whether all six MPs are fully on board with switching loyalties. Three of the Sena (UBT)'s nine LS MPs have declared their allegiance to the party, five are not accepting calls from party leaders, and Sanjay Patil, in fact, now claims he is backing Thackeray, not the Sena. Late on Tuesday, Sena chartered planes to airlift rebel MPs from Maharashtra to Delhi. 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. The developments appear to have caught the Sena (UBT) off guard on Tuesday. Apart from dispatching three senior leaders to Delhi, Sena (UBT) group leader in the Lok Sabha, Arvind Sawant, issued a whip to all nine MPs on Wednesday. Sawant and Raut, both furious in the morning, toned down their aggression when they realised the rebel camp may not have the required six MPs. Sawant insists there is no split in the Sena (UBT). "All our MPs are with us. Has any of them said he is breaking away from the party? Lies are being spread. You will see it tomorrow when our parliamentary party meeting is held," he said. Sanjay Raut alleged that the rebels' loyalty is 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," said Raut. Sena (UBT) 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," Patil told HT. "I have neither received any offer nor been approached by any party or political leader," Patil claimed. His Bhandup residence in Mumbai has been 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.'' The Shiv Sena camp insists a split is on the cards. A senior Sena minister in Maharashtra said the rebel MPs were negotiating what they would get in return. "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," he disclosed. On allegations that the BJP is engineering the split in the Sena (UBT), 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." Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is silent on the issue....