MUMBAI, MAY 25: Five Congress corporators were today expelled from the party for six years after they declared their support for former defence minister and senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar.The decision on expulsion was announced after party leaders met at the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee office. Baban Kanavje, Suryakant Chavan, Parshuram Mirekar, Vijay Kudtarkar and Pravin Rami were expelled after they refused to sign the letter addressed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi requesting her to withdraw her resignation.Deputy Congress leader in the BMC Ravindra Pawar today informed that the five corporators had acted against the interest of the party by refusing to sign on the letter. The letter had threatened that if Sonia Gandhi did not withdraw her resignation, the Congress corporators in the BMC would resign as they did not want to be left leaderless and directionless.Pawar informed that the five has expressed their support to Sharad Pawar by attending the meeting called at the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly Chhagan Bhujbal's bungalow.When it was pointed out that Congress leader Kisan Jadhav was also sighted at the meeting, Pawar said that it has not been established that Jadhav had attended the meeting. ``The party will take action against Jadhav as well as six other suspected to have attended the meeting if this is true,'' he contended adding that the high command was maintaining a strict watch on all the remaining corporators including himself.Pawar added that the five corporators were not served a show cause notice since it was `firmly' established that they had indulged in anti-party activities. A letter expelling the corporators from the party has been dispatched to Mayor Hareshwar Patil.Even as the party is maintaining a watch on the rest of its flock in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), it may not be possible for the party to expel more corporators. The expelled corporators can form a new party if they manage to get 17 corporators in all. It is learnt that the expelled corporators have already begun efforts to muster support from other disgruntled Congress corporators. They are also likely to approach 15 Independent corporators seeking their support.Kisan Jadhav was not available for comment.
