Sanjay Nirupam expelled from Congress, set to join Shinde-led Sena faction

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra Congress removed Nirupam from its list of star campaigners for the Lok Sabha elections, and recommended disciplinary action against him.

“There will be no showcause notice to Nirupam. There will be direct action against him,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole.

Reacting to this, Nirupam said, “Congress should not waste its energy and stationery on me. The party, anyway, is facing severe financial crunch and hence it should use its energy to save the party. The one-week ultimatum I had given is over, and I will announce my decision tomorrow (Thursday).”

Speaking to The Indian Express hours before his expulsion, a source close to Nirupam said: “He has taken the decision to quit the Congress and wants to contest from a seat in Mumbai, which is likely to be offered to him by the Shinde Sena.”

While Nirupam wanted to contest from Mumbai North-West, the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, an ally of the Congress, declared Amol Kirtikar as the candidate.

The BJP-Shinde Sena alliance is yet to announce its candidate for the seat.

Speaking to The Indian Express last week, after the Sena (UBT) announced its candidate, Nirupam had said: “The (Congress) leadership does not care about local leaders. Nobody had a talk with me in the last two weeks, nobody asked me if there was any alternative, nobody asked me why I want to contest this. At a time when Congress leadership is talking about extending nyay (justice) to different sections of the society, it is not looking into the injustice committed against its own party workers. I want to tell the leadership that I will wait for one week. All options are open for me.”

In 2019, Nirupam had contested from Mumbai North-West, but lost to Gajanan Kirtikar of the Shinde Sena. Nirupam, who was earlier with the undivided Shiv Sena, joined the Congress in 2005.