Lok Sabha polls 2024: Sanjay Nirupam fires back at Congress after expulsion, says 'good to see such promptness'

Former MP Sanjay Nirupam, who was expelled from the Congress on Thursday, fired back at the grand old party. He said that the Congress expelled him after they got his resignation letter. Sanjay Nirupam also shared a screenshot of his resignation mail sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. 

Nirupam was expelled from the Congress due to indiscipline and anti-party statements. His ouster from the grand old party came after he questioned the Congress leadership amid seat-sharing talks with Shiv Sena (UBT) for the Lok Sabha elections. 

"Looks like, immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion. Good to see such promptness. Just sharing this information," Nirupam said on X (formerly Twitter). He also said that he will soon give a detailed statement regarding his expulsion.

The Congress also removed Nirupam from its list of star campaigners in Maharashtra, the state with the second highest number of Lok Sabha seats after Uttar Pradesh.

Nirupam, former Congress MP from Mumbai North West, attacked the Congress leadership after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena declared its candidates for four out of six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, including the Mumbai North West seat. 

Sanjay Nirupam had said that the Congress leadership should not allow itself to be manipulated by Shiv Sena (UBT). Last week, Nirupam said those who agreed to seat-sharing formula were preparing to bury the Congress in Mumbai.

He said he was prepared for a "friendly fight" in the Mumbai North West constituency. "The Congress should not come under the threat of Shiv Sena (UBT) as the Uddhav Thackeray-led party is not capable of winning any seat without Congress support," he said. 

"Shiv Sena (UBT) arm-twisted the Congress to take 5 of the 6 seats in Mumbai. But the Congress should not allow itself to be arm-twisted like this. This action is against the Congress and it's a ploy to finish off the party in the city," Nirupam added. 

Despite losing from the seat in 2014 general elections, Nirupam was eyeing his candidature from the constituency. His plans to contest again from the seat were dampened after Shiv Sena (UBT) put forward its own candidate.