LS Polls 2024: Congress cracks whip on Sanjay Nirupam, drops him from star campaigners' list

The Congress party has dropped Sanjay Nirupam from the star campaigners list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra party chief Nana Patole said on Wednesday. "His name was mentioned in the star campaigners, which has been cancelled. The kind of statements he has been making, action will be taken against Sanjay Nirupam for taking anti-party stands," he added. 

Nirupam has been criticising the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena since it announced its candidates for Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. He was keen to contest from Mumbai North West, but Uddhav's Sena fielded Amol Kirtikar as its candidate from the seat. The seat is currently held by Shiv Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar, who defeated Nirupam in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The Maharashtra unit of the Congress has passed the proposal to expel Nirupam for his remarks against Sena, sources told India Today TV.

Last week, Nirupam said that those who agreed to the seat-sharing formula were preparing to bury the Congress in Mumbai. Nirupam said he was prepared for a "friendly fight" in the constituency. He also said the Congress should not allow itself to be arm-twisted by the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit for the seats in Mumbai. 

Nirupam said this attempt was part of a conspiracy to finish the Congress party in Mumbai. "Congress leadership will have to take a stand. There are just two options - First, break off the alliance. Second, have a friendly fight. Congress should field candidates for the seats on which we have a dispute and have not reached a solution."