At the culmination of a day marked by rapid developments, the Congress Party has taken the decisive step of expelling Sanjay Nirupam, a prominent leader hailing from Maharashtra, for six years due to his “anti-party statements”. Preceding this action, on Wednesday, the party had already excluded him from the roster of star campaigners for the Lok Sabha elections. Sources had indicated earlier in the day that the state unit was drafting a proposal for his expulsion, which would be forwarded to the central leadership.
The proposal to expel Mr. Nirupam stemmed from his series of criticisms directed towards Congress’ ally, Shiv Sena (led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), particularly following their announcement of candidates for the Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra. Notably, the North West Mumbai seat, reportedly coveted by the Congress leader, was a focal point. Additionally, before this, Mr. Nirupam had also commented on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who heads another party ally, AAP, in a manner inconsistent with the official stance of the Congress.
In a late announcement on Wednesday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal conveyed in a statement, “In response to the complaints regarding indiscipline and anti-party remarks, the Hon’ble Congress President has sanctioned the expulsion of Shri Sanjay Nirupam from the party for six years, effective immediately.”
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said, “We have taken him (Mr. Nirupam) off the list of star campaigners and have also initiated disciplinary action against him over the statements he made.”
After he was removed as the star campaigner, a defiant Mr Nirupam had hit out at the Congress and said he would announce his next course of action on Thursday.
Personal Attacks
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which is in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra with the Congress and the NCP, declared its list of 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections on March 27. The list included the name of Amol Kirtikar – son of the sitting MP – for the North West Mumbai seat, prompting a tirade from Mr Nirupam.
“The way Shiv Sena UBT has taken five seats of Mumbai, it seems that there is a plan to bury Congress in Mumbai. It seems the Shiv Sena wants to force Congress to kneel,” the senior Congress leader, who has been a Lok Sabha MP from the Mumbai North constituency, a Rajya Sabha MP, and the Mumbai unit president of the party, said.
“I appeal to the Congress leadership to intervene or end the alliance with Shiv Sena. If the Shiv Sena thinks it can fight alone, it is making a big mistake,” he added.
Taking a dig at Uddhav Thackeray over the split in the Shiv Sena engineered by the current Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Mr. Nirupam called him the “bachi kuchi Shiv Sena pramukh (chief of what’s left of the Shiv Sena)”.
He also hit out at Mr Kirtikar, alleging that he was involved in the ‘Khichdi scam’ – the alleged irregularities in the distribution of food to migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Nirupam’s remarks were seen as adding to the seat-sharing troubles of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is part of the INDIA alliance at the Centre.
‘Will Announce Decision Tomorrow’
After he was removed from the list of star campaigners, Mr. Nirupam had alluded to the Congress’ accounts being frozen and said it should utilize its stationery and energy to save itself.
In a post on X, the leader wrote in Hindi, “The Congress party should not waste energy and stationery on me. It should utilize the stationery and energy to save itself since the party is experiencing a serious financial crisis. The timeframe I had given to the party ends today. I will spell out my next course of action tomorrow,” he tweeted.
The timeframe was a reference to his earlier comments giving the Congress a week to decide on ending the alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Mr. Nirupam decides to switch sides, he is likely to be spoilt for choice as leaders from both the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena have said he would be welcome in their parties
