Maharashtra: Congress Expels Sanjay Nirupam for 6 Years Over Indiscipline, Anti-Party Statements
Tikam Shekhawat
Mumbai/New Delhi, 3rd April 2024: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has sanctioned the expulsion of former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam from the party for a duration of six years, citing allegations of indiscipline and anti-party statements. Alongside this action, Nirupam has been removed from the roster of star campaigners for the party, as confirmed on Wednesday (April 3).
Expressing his discontent with the party’s decisions, Nirupam vocalized his sentiments, stating, “The party should not expend its energy and resources on me. Tomorrow, I will make a significant decision.”
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole echoed these sentiments, citing Nirupam’s recent statements as antithetical to the party’s objectives.
The sequence of events leading to Nirupam’s expulsion unfolded on March 31 when the party released its list of 40 star campaigners for the Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections, including Nirupam’s name. However, amidst escalating tensions, Nirupam is anticipated to announce his departure from the Congress party on Thursday.
Taking to social media, Nirupam reiterated his intentions, stating, “The party should utilize its remaining resources to salvage its integrity, particularly given the severe financial crisis it faces. The one-week deadline that I set has elapsed today (Wednesday). Tomorrow (Thursday), I will make the decision myself.”
In Maharashtra, the Congress party, in alliance with Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar, forms the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. However, tensions escalated when, on March 27, the Shiv Sena-Uddhav faction announced its list of 17 candidates, assigning the Mumbai North-West seat to Amol Kirtikar.
This decision irked Nirupam, who had been preparing to contest elections from this constituency. Alleging malfeasance, Nirupam accused Kirtikar of involvement in the Khichdi scam, wherein substandard food was distributed to migrant laborers during the Covid pandemic.
Presently, Amol’s father, Gajanan Kirtikar, holds the MP position from the Mumbai North-West seat. In the 2019 elections, he secured victory over Nirupam by a substantial margin of over 2.60 lakh votes.
