“Such Promptness”: Sanjay Nirupam Claims He Resigned Before Being Fired by Congress

The Congress yesterday ousted Sanjay Nirupam, who has said that the party handed out the notice of expulsion as soon as he submitted his resignation last night. The former MP has released his letter of resignation, dated April 3, in a post on X. It seems that the party decided to expel me as soon as they got my letter of resignation yesterday night. It’s encouraging to witness such quickness. Just passing along this information. In the tweet, he said, “Today between 11.30 and 12 PM, I will provide a detailed explanation.

Due to his lack of discipline and remarks critical of the Congress, Mr. Nirupam was dismissed from the organization yesterday for a six-year term.

The move came after the leader of Mumbai made harsh comments on seat-sharing in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha election, directed at Congress’s Indian ally, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

“Taking note of complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge) has approved the expulsion of Sanjay Nirupam from the party for six years with immediate effect,” according to a party message.

Yesterday, the Congress unit in Maharashtra had advocated for action against Mr. Nirupam. He was also removed off the party’s roster of celebrity candidates for the next round of elections.

Mr. Nirupam intended to run for office again from the Mumbai North-West seat, where he was previously defeated by Gajanan Kirtikar of the Shiv Sena. However, the son of Gajanan Kirtikar, Amol Kirtikar, was declared the candidate by the Uddhav Thackeray-led party. After then, Mr. Nirupam said that the Sena group could not win any seats without the backing of Congress and that the state Congress leadership should not be coerced by Mr. Thackeray’s party. He referred to Mr. Thackeray as the leader of the “Bachi Khuchi Shiv Sena,” making a personal assault on him.

Additionally, he had accused its nominee, Amol Kirtikar, of being involved in anomalies in the COVID-era free food program, commonly referred to as the Khichdi Scam.

Retiring Member of Parliament Gajanan Kirtikar, who supported the Eknath Shinde group during the Shiv Sena split, has pulled out of the race after the Uddhav Thackeray faction supported his son as their nominee.

According to sources, the BJP intends to run a candidate in Mumbai North-West as part of their agreement to share seats with the Shiv Sena, headed by Eknath Shinde.

Mr. Nirupam has previously said that “all options are open” for him. In 2005, he shifted from the Shiv Sena to the Congress.

People like as Mr. Nirupam are “always welcome” provided their opinions are in line with the BJP, according to Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule. “Considering Sanjay Nirupam’s political career, he has made significant contributions to facilitating public access to Congress. He’s widely known throughout the northern part of India. Although there haven’t been any talks with Sanjay Nirupam yet, he said that “people like him are always welcome if he is ready and his beliefs align with the BJP.”