Stay or Switch? Nimbalkar Keeps Sena (UBT) Waiting on Defection Call

The Shiv Sena (UBT) is cautiously optimistic that Dharashiv MP Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar , one of six dissident Lok Sabha members, will not defect to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena , with party sources claiming he is "on his way back" from the rebel camp, even as the MP himself remains publicly non-committal.

Nimbalkar told reporters on Saturday he would announce his political stand within two days, after consulting voters in his constituency. "I have never spoken against Uddhav Thackeray or Aaditya Thackeray , and I will not do so in future either," he said, even as he voiced disappointment over a special CBI court's acquittal of former NCP minister Padamsinh Patil and seven others in his father Pawanraje Nimbalkar 's 2006 murder case, calling it "Kalyug."

Behind the scenes, the equation appears to have shifted. According to reports, a crucial phone call between Uddhav Thackeray and Nimbalkar on Saturday, preceded by hours of talks at Nimbalkar's Pune residence with Sena (UBT) leaders Kailas Patil and Varun Sardesai , may have prompted the change in tone. Nimbalkar reportedly told Thackeray he remained with the party and had "not taken any other decision," crediting his political career entirely to the Thackerays.

Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut had earlier alleged Nimbalkar was dangled a favourable court verdict, timed suspiciously, with the ruling deferred from Wednesday to Saturday, in exchange for switching sides, a claim Nimbalkar has rejected. Aaditya Thackeray has meanwhile extended an olive branch, saying defectors willing to return are welcome since Uddhav Thackeray "has a large heart," while warning of action against those who don't.

None of the six rebel MPs, Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar and Nimbalkar , has responded to show-cause notices issued on June 18 for skipping the party's Delhi meeting, prompting the party to prepare a formal disqualification plea to the Lok Sabha Speaker under the anti-defection law, which requires the rebels to retain at least six of the party's nine MPs to escape action.

In Dharashiv, local Sena (UBT) workers have threatened to publicly shame any MP who defects, underlining the ground-level stakes as the so-called " Operation Tiger ", the alleged bid to swell Shinde's Shiv Sena ranks, hangs on Nimbalkar's still-undeclared decision.