Mr Nirupam had said he would take a call on leaving the party himself on Thursday.

Capping a day of fast-moving developments, the Congress has expelled Sanjay Nirupam, a senior leader from Maharashtra, for six years for his “anti-party statements”. Earlier on Wednesday, the party had removed him from the list of star campaigners for the Lok Sabha elections and sources had said that a proposal to expel him was being prepared by the state unit to be sent to the central leadership.

The proposal was made after Mr Nirupam made a string of remarks against Congress’ INDIA ally, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and its leader Uddhav Thackeray after it announced some candidates for the Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, including the North West Mumbai seat, which was being eyed by the Congress leader. 

Announcing Mr Nirupam’s expulsion late on Wednesday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said in a statement, “Taking note of the complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, the Hon’ble Congress President has approved the expulsion of Shri Sanjay Nirupam from the party for six years with immediate effect.”

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole had 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 said that he would take a decision on leaving the party himself on Thursday. 

Personal Attacks

After the Shiv Sena (UBT), which is in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra with the Congress and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, had 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 that 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. 

Attacking 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.