Mumbai: The Congress has initiated disciplinary proceedings towards its Mumbai-based chief Sanjay Nirupam, after the previous MP slammed his celebration for conceding the coveted Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat to rival-turned-ally Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Nirupam had additionally levelled graft allegations towards the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate in rivalry — Amol Kirtikar, saying that the Congress resolution to concede the seat is nearly like “writing its own obituary”.
Since 2019, the Shiv Sena (UBT), together with the Nationalist Congress Occasion (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction, has been an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra as a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bloc.
State Congress President Nana Patole mentioned the Maharashtra Congress has despatched a proposal to the celebration management for disciplinary proceedings towards Nirupam.
At a press convention in Mumbai, Patole mentioned Wednesday, “Sanjay Nirupam’s name was in the list of star campaigners (in Maharashtra). We got his name removed. He has been talking as if he has taken a supari (contract) from someone. We have initiated disciplinary proceedings against him, and there will be a decision by the end of the day.”
Nirupam, on his half, had hinted at parting methods with the Congress, including that he would wait per week for the celebration to reverse its resolution. “All options are open for me. Whatever happens now, it will be ‘aar ya paar (either this way or that)’,” Nirupam mentioned at a press convention final week.
After the initiation of disciplinary proceedings towards him, Nirupam mentioned on social media platform X that the one-week interval could be over on Wednesday, and he would resolve what to do by Thursday.
“Congress should not waste much energy and stationary on me. Instead, use your remaining energy and stationary to save the party,” the chief mentioned within the X publish.
कॉंग्रेस पार्टी मेरे लिए ज़्यादा ऊर्जा और स्टेशनरी नष्ट ना करे।
बल्कि अपनी बची-ख़ुची ऊर्जा और स्टेशनरी का इस्तेमाल करे,पार्टी को बचाने के लिए करे।
वैसे भी पार्टी भीषण आर्थिक संकट के दौर से गुजर रही है।
मैंने जो एक हफ़्ते की अवधि दी थी,वह आज पूरी हो गई है।
कल मैं खुद फ़ैसला ले…— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) April 3, 2024
Previously a Bal Thackeray loyalist, Nirupam joined the Congress in 2005. Throughout his practically two-decade-long stint with the Congress, Nirupam has typically clashed with the celebration’s leaders.
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Tussle with Shiv Sena (UBT)
A former Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP, Nirupam had unsuccessfully contested the Mumbai North West seat within the 2019 state election. Gajanan Kirtikar from the undivided Shiv Sena had gained the seat. Kirtikar, nonetheless, joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena after the vertical cut up within the celebration.
Nirupam, who began his political profession with the undivided Shiv Sena and later fell out with the celebration, first criticised the Shiv Sena (UBT) over the Mumbai North West seat early final month. Uddhav Thackeray had declared Gajanan’s son Amol the celebration’s candidate from the constituency in a public rally at the same time as seat-sharing talks inside the MVA had been underway.
Nirupam questioned if that was a violation of the alliance dharma or just an try and solid his celebration, the Congress, in a poor gentle. He requested his celebration’s management to intervene within the matter.
On the identical time, he additionally raised the difficulty that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been probing Amol Kirtikar within the “khichdi scam” within the Mumbai civic physique. The ED has been probing alleged cash laundering in contracts for distribution of khichdi to migrants throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its first record of 17 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Shiv Sena (UBT) formally named Amol Kirtikar as its candidate for Mumbai North West. In addition to, it named candidates for 3 extra Mumbai seats.
Mumbai has a complete of six parliamentary seats. The Congress had misplaced all six in 2014 and 2019.
After the Shiv Sena (UBT) named its candidates for 4 of the six seats, Nirupam alleged the celebration supposed to wipe out the Congress, suggesting pleasant fights in disputed constituencies.
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Conflicts inside Congress
Nirupam was courting conflicts with Congress leaders additionally within the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He was the Mumbai Congress chief then, and a bit of city-based Congress leaders had been urgent for his ouster, complaining of his working model.
Nirupam, who represented the Mumbai North constituency from 2009 to 2014 until he misplaced the parliamentary election from the identical seat, wished to contest from the Mumbai North West constituency in 2019.
The Mumbai North West constituency belonged to Gurudas Kamat, who handed away in 2018. There have been many aspirants for Kamat’s outdated seat in 2019, and a number of other celebration leaders thought Nirupam ought to stick with his outdated seat of Mumbai North.
Simply earlier than the 2019 elections, the celebration changed Nirupam with former MP Milind Deora as Mumbai Congress chief and gave Nirupam the seat he wished and later misplaced.
Deora is now a Rajya Sabha MP with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Nirupam was appointed Mumbai Congress president in 2015, quickly after the Congress had confronted its worst-ever defeat in Maharashtra. The chief’s quest to revive the celebration was lonely, with him typically complaining that senior leaders didn’t flip up for celebration occasions, conferences and programmes he organised. Congress old-timers noticed Nirupam, an export from the undivided Shiv Sena, as an outsider.
As soon as Bal Thackeray’s blue-eyed boy
Initially from Bihar, Nirupam grew inside the undivided Shiv Sena because the celebration’s North Indian face in Mumbai. He was additionally thought-about celebration supremo Bal Thackeray’s blue-eyed boy.
Nirupam was a Shiv Sena MP within the Rajya Sabha and the editor of Dopahar ka Saamana, the Shiv Sena’s Hindi mouthpiece.
He, nonetheless, typically courted controversies by criticising leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP), Shiv Sena’s ally on the time.
Finally, he left the Shiv Sena following some variations with the celebration’s management and joined the Congress.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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