India, June 15 -- With five of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs being physically absent at a meeting called by party chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday, and the claims of the rival Shiv Sena's leaders that 'Operation Tiger' (their mission name to poach on Thackeray's elected representatives) could happen anytime now, a fresh round of the Thackeray-versus-Eknath Shinde battle has begun. After 19 Trinamool Congress MPs moved to support the BJP-led NDA government, talk began in Maharashtra's political circles on how the equations within the NDA were changing. Shinde's aides said that the BJP was pushing to improve the NDA's strength further, and Shinde, whose numerical strength of seven Lok Sabha MPS seems to be no longer enough, is keen on poaching Sena (UBT) MPs. This, his aides say, will prove his utility for the BJP again. According to Shinde camp insiders, during a recent trip to Delhi, he met some of Uddhav's MPs besides some from the NCP (SP). An alarmed Uddhav Thackeray called a meeting of his MPs on Sunday but only four attended physically while the rest marked their presence online or via phone calls. "More than half the MPs not coming to Matoshree clearly indicates something is wrong," admitted a senior Sena (UBT) leader. With the next elections three years away and no signs of revival of the Sena (UBT) after its crushing defeat in the last assembly elections, several party MPs (and even MLAs) are building bridges with the ruling Shiv Sena and BJP. A couple of MPs are trying to get into the good books of union home minister Amit Shah. Shinde has been trying to poach seven of the nine Sena (UBT) MPs to escape the provisions of the anti-defection law but has reportedly not fully managed to convince them yet. However, things may change after Sunday's developments. All eyes are now on how Uddhav Thackeray manages to retain his flock. In 2022, Shinde had outsmarted him by walking away with the party and the government. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Uddhav fought back and managed to get nine MPs elected. In the assembly elections, Shinde won against him. This is the fourth battle. Who will win? Harshvardhan Sakpal got a shot in the arm recently when his party leadership lauded him for his work in Maharashtra. The state Congress chief had recently done a major reshuffle, changing several district chiefs and infuriating some Congress leaders who complained to the party top brass against him. However, during a meeting of state presidents in New Delhi last Thursday, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge reportedly lauded Sakpal's efforts to revive the party organisation in Maharashtra, and thereby sent a clear message to the cribbing leaders to fall in line. Sakpal aides say that even Lok Sabha LOP Rahul Gandhi appreciated his work. The enmity between Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya is well known. Somaiya had claimed credit when Raut was sent to jail while the latter had accused Somaiya of creaming off funds collected to save decommissioned aircraft carrier Vikrant. Which is why people were surprised when Raut posted on social media that he had written to Somaiya on June 8. The letter, however, turned out to be a dig at the BJP leader. Calling him 'Mahatma' Somaiya, Raut urged him to stage a dharna opposite the prime minister's office for action against businessman Rajesh Mehta, who is being investigated for an alleged Rs 15 lakh crore. Somaiya chose not to react. Congress leaders in Amravati were furious when they learnt that Harshjit Deshmukh, their party candidate in the June 18 legislative council election, was incommunicado on Tuesday when their campaign began. Later, they found out that he had been admitted to a Nagpur hospital. Deshmukh told media persons that he underwent an angiography, and doctors advised him to stay in the hospital for a few days. He maintained that he had not backed out of the contest, and insisted that he was in touch with his voters through a digital campaign. Former minister Yashomati Thakur, however, told media persons that she smelt a rat, and alleged that it could be an attempt to sabotage the party's prospects. The Congress central leadership has taken note of the episode and ordered Harshvardhan Sakpal to probe what happened with Deshmukh....