Sanjay Nirupam, expelled Congress leader, to announce next move today

Former MP Sanjay Nirupam, who was expelled by the Congress on Wednesday, is likely to join the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday, reported The Indian Express. Sanjay Nirupam said he will announce his “next course of action” on April 4.

Hours before his expulsion from the Congress party, a source close to Sanjay Nirupam told the newspaper that he would be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai seat, which he is likely to be offered from Shinde's Shiv Sena.

Read more: Congress expels Sanjay Nirupam for ‘anti-party statements’

“He has taken the decision to quit the Congress and wants to contest from a seat in Mumbai, which is likely to be offered to him by the Shinde Sena," the source said.

Sanjay Nirupam wanted to contest the elections from the Mumbai North-West seat, but Congress ally, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, declared Amol Kirtikar as its candidate. The BJP-Shiv Shine alliance has not announced its candidate from the seat yet.

Sanjay Nirupam was earlier a part of the undivided Shiv Sena and later joined the Congress in 2005. He had contested the Lok Sabha elections 2019 from the Mumbai North-West seat but lost to Gajanan Kirtikar of the Shinde Sena.

Read more: Sanjay Nirupam's ‘stationery’ dig at Congress over disciplinary action: ‘Don't waste energy…’

It is reported that after Nirupam's statements against Uddhav Thackeray and his Sena faction, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approved Nirupam's expulsion from the party for six years with immediate effect. Earlier on Wednesday, the Congress dropped Nirupam's name as a star campaigner, indicating that the crisis was escalating.

The Congress later issued an official order expelling Nirupam from the party on Wednesday night, citing indiscipline and anti-party statements as the reason.

Sanjay Nirupam's ‘stationary’ attack at Congress

Hours before being expelled from the party, the former Rajya Sabha MP had launched a sharp attack on the Congress saying it should utilise the stationery and energy to save itself.

Read more: 'Speaking BJP's language..': Shiv Sena (UBT) leader on Sanjay Nirupam's remarks

"It (Congress) should utilise the stationery and energy to save itself, as the party is experiencing a serious financial crisis. The time frame I had given to the party ends today. I will spell out my next course of action tomorrow," Sanjay Nirupam wrote on X (formally Twitter).

The demand for action against Nirupam grew after he castigated the Maharashtra Congress leadership for "ceding" constituencies in Mumbai to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party during seat-sharing talks of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance for Lok Sabha elections.

(With inputs from PTI)