Mumbai:

The Congress party’s Maharashtra unit is preparing a proposal to oust party leader Sanjay Nirupam for his recent targeting of Indian allies over the seat allocation issue for the Lok Sabha elections Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) spoke. The proposal will be submitted to the Congress high command in Delhi and the party’s disciplinary committee will take a final decision.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state assembly committee, which also decided to push for Mr Nirupam’s removal from the party’s list of star campaigners ahead of the polls. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said: “We have removed his star campaigner status and taken disciplinary action against him for his remarks.”

A former member of the House and Lok Sabha, Mr Nirupam has been lashing out at the Uddhav Thackeray-led party ever since it nominated its candidate for the Maharashtra Lok Sabha seat.

Why Sanjay Nirupam is upset

The bone of contention is the Mumbai North West seat – where Mr Nirupam wants to contest but the Uddhav Thackeray-led party has announced Amol Kirtikar as its candidate. The seat is currently held by Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar, who defeated Mr Nirupam in the 2019 elections. After the Shiv Sena split, Gajanan Kirtikar sided with Eknath Shinde. In a sharp move, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party ousted his son Amol from the seat. Gajanan Kirtikar now says he will not compete with his son. It is understood that the BJP wants to field its candidate there as part of a seat-sharing understanding with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Verbal attacks on allies

Mr Nirupam said the Congress leadership should not allow itself to be coerced by Uddhav Thackeray’s party. Soon after the Sena list was announced, he told news agency PTI, “Congress should not be threatened by the Shiv Sena (UBT) as the Uddhav Thackeray-led party does not have the capability to win any seat without Congress support .The Shiv Sena (UBT) forced the Congress to capture five out of the six seats in Mumbai. But the Congress should not allow itself to be forced like this. This action is against the Congress and it is to eliminate strategy of political parties in the city,” he said.

Nirupam also alleged that Sena candidate Amol Kirtikar took bribes in an initiative to provide free food to migrant laborers during the coronavirus pandemic, also known as the “Hitchidi scam”.

In a personal attack on Uddhav Thackeray, he called himself a “bachi khuchi Shiv Sena pramukh” and hit out at the split in the party following the Eknath Shinde-led mutiny.

Will Sanjay Nirupam change political parties?

Mr. Nirupam dropped broad hints about his next move. Last week, the former Mumbai Congress president said he was awaiting the high command’s decision on the issues raised by him, adding “all options are open to me”.

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bhavankule said if Mr Nirupam is ready and his ideas are aligned with the BJP, then someone like Nirupam People are “always welcome” to join the party. “Looking at Sanjay Nirupam’s political tenure, he has done a lot to connect the people with the Congress. He has a great reputation in North India. With Sanjay Nirupam Talks are yet to take place but if he is ready and his ideas are with the BJP, someone like him is always welcome,” he said.

The BJP is not alone. The Sena party led by Eknath Shinde also sent out feelers. Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat said that if Nirupam decides to leave Congress in the near future, he will definitely be welcomed.

“Sanjay Nirupam is very angry with the Congress. If he wants to join us, we welcome him. However, the final decision in this regard lies with Eknath Shinde,” Mr. Hilsaat told ANI.