Mumbai:

Former Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Friday joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai. The former Mumbai MP’s political journey, thus, came a full circle as he had left the undivided Shiv Sena, then led by Bal Thackeray, 19 years ago.

Chief Minister Shinde welcomed Nirupam — whom Congress had expelled for “anti-party activities” last month — into the Sena at a function. Nirupam will work as Shiv Sena deputy leader and spokesperson, Shinde announced.

Notably, the Shiv Sena has several deputy leaders.

Mr Nirupam, 59, began his political career as editor of ‘Dophar Ka Saamana’, the Hindi mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena, in the 1990s, and became the party’s North Indian face.

He joined Congress in 2005 and was appointed general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. He won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 elections, defeating BJP veteran Ram Naik. He held various positions in the Grand Old Party and also headed the city unit before falling out with the state Congress leadership.

After the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, Mr Nirupam opposed the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Congress, NCP and the undivided Shiv Sena headed by Uddhav Thackeray.

Congress expelled him last month for six years for “indiscipline and anti-party statements” days after he gave a “one-week ultimatum” to the party over the Mumbai North-West seat which he was eyeing. As part of the seat-sharing agreement of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the seat is being contested by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

Speaking after Mr Nirupam’s entry into the Shiv Sena, Chief Minister Shinde noted that Bal Thackeray had sent him to the Rajya Sabha twice, and his work at the national level had enhanced the Sena’s reputation.

“Today, he has returned home,” Mr Shinde said, adding that Nirupam’s entry will benefit the candidates of the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP alliance in the Mumbai-Thane region, and he will also work to rally the North Indian population behind the party. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Expelled Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, who criticized Nehruvian secularism earlier today, has now dropped a broad hint of his future plans with a resounding “Jai Shri Ram”. Asked what next, the 59-year-old told reporters, “I have plans, certainly I am joining somewhere. Will declare. You can derive meaning out of Jai Shri Ram”.  

Mr Nirupam was expelled yesterday over his out-of-turn comments on Congress ally Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena UBT after it announced candidates for 17 seats. Among those was Mumbai North West, a seat Mr Nirupam was eyeing.

The senior leader had won the Mumbai north seat in 2009, but lost the subsequent elections in 2014 and 2019 from Mumbai North and Mumbai North West. Today, he made it clear that he would contest, from the other side if need be.

The Mumbai North West seat is part of the kitty of Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The party is yet to announce its candidate.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction has fielded Amot Kirtikar from the seat. Mr Nirupam told reporters, “I will not allow him to become an MP. I will contest and defeat him”.

The former MP, who was penalized by the Congress for ‘indiscipline” and “anti-party statements”, was defiant.  While of a criticism spree, had said, ” Secularism doesn’t mean disregarding one’s own religion…  The Nehruvian secularism which has no place for religion in the society, has expired”.

There were other barbs directed at the Congress and its allies.
The Congress is now history and has no future and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi is a merger of three “sick units”, he said.  There are five power centres in the Congress, he said: The three Gandhi family members, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and (party general secretary) K C Venugopal, Mr Nirupam had added.

“There is a huge communication gap in Congress, there are many lobbies,” he told reporters.

“I was not being heard by the leadership. The way the Maharashtra alliance was handled was wrong. Giving seats to Sena was a disastrous move, including my seat. They surrendered before the Sena and gave the seat to a scamster under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate,” he added.

Mumbai:

A day after being expelled by the party, former Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, who claimed that he had already tendered his resignation letter to the party president, hit out at his former party, saying that it has five centres of power.

“Congress party is a completely scattered party. The leaders of the party have earlier said that its ideology is directionless but now they are scattered in terms of their organisation,” Mr Nirupam said.

Explaining the organisational structure of the Congress, Mr Nirupam said, “Earlier there was one centre of power within the Congress and there was a coterie and all the other leaders used to fight against them. Currently, you will be surprised to know that the Congress party has five power centres.”

Revealing each of the centres of power, Mr Nirupam said that all five have their own different caucus and lobby which fights among each other.

“The five different power centres have their individual caucus, their lobbies which clash with one another. In the middle of this, lakhs of workers like me find themselves stuck. In these five centres, first is Sonia Gandhi, second is Rahul Gandhi, third is his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, fourth is president Mallikarjun Kharge. The people around him are those who have no political ideology and have suddenly become the high command by tying up with Kharge. The last power centre is Congress General Secretary Organisation KC Venugopal.”

“Those who were meritorious are in a poor state and is deteriorating. I was observing this for a couple of years but then I lost my patience,” he added.

The former Rajya Sabha MP also took a dig at his former party saying that they have ultimately wasted an A-4 size paper.

“At around 10:40 pm yesterday I had sent my resignation letter to Mallikarjun Kharge. I think right after that they got provoked by my expression in the resignation letter. They might have thought that it would be too much if they do not react and then they made such a decision (to expel him from the party). Hence, they (Congress) have finally wasted an A-4 size paper,” Mr Nirupam said speaking at a press conference on Thursday.

Explaining what led to him tendering his resignation, the former Congress leader said, “When I got to know that they are in the mood to take action I asked them not to waste their stationery and I will make an announcement today.”

The senior leader was expelled from the Congress for “indiscipline” and “anti-party statements,” Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said in a statement on Wednesday night.

“Taking note of the complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, the Hon’ble Congress President has approved the expulsion of Shri Sanjay Nirupam from the party for six years with immediate effect,” Mr Venugopal said.

Mr Nirupam was removed from the list of star campaigners for the Congress party in Lok Sabha general elections 2024 earlier in the day.

The action was taken for his recent remarks against INDIA block partner, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) amid seat sharing talks for the Lok Sabha election.

Shiv Sena (UBT) declared its candidate Amol Kirtikar will contest from Mumbai North West, a seat that Sanjay Nirupam was keen to contest from.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Sanjay Nirupam, who was expelled by the Congress yesterday, has claimed that the party had issued the letter of expulsion immediately after he sent across his resignation last night. In a post on X, the former MP has shared his resignation letter, dated April 3. “Looks like, immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion. Good to see the such promptness. Just sharing this info. I will give detail statement today between 11.30 to 12 PM,” he said in the post.

Looks like, immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion.
Good to see the such promptness.
Just sharing this info.
I will give detail statement today between 11.30 to 12 PM pic.twitter.com/3Wil8OaxuE

— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) April 4, 2024

Mr Nirupam was expelled by the Congress yesterday for six years on grounds of indiscipline and anti-party statements.

The action followed the Mumbai leader’s scathing remarks against Congress’s INDIA ally, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) over seat-sharing in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha election.

“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,” an official communication from the party said.

The Maharashtra unit of the Congress had pushed for action against Mr Nirupam yesterday. He was also dropped from the party’s list of star campaigners for the upcoming polls.

Mr Nirupam wanted to contest the polls from the Mumbai North-West seat, where he lost to Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar last time. But the Uddhav Thackeray-led party announced Amol Kirtikar – Gajanan Kirtikar’s son – as its candidate. Thereafter, Mr Nirupam had said the state Congress leadership must not get arm-twisted by Mr Thackeray’s party and he said the Sena faction cannot win any seat without Congress’s support. In a personal attack on Mr Thackeray, he said described him as the chief of “Bachi Khuchi Shiv Sena”.

He had also accused its candidate, Amol Kirtikar, of involvement in irregularities in a free food scheme during Covid, popularly known as Khichdi Scam.

Sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikar, who sided with the Eknath Shinde camp when the Shiv Sena split, has withdrawn from the contest after the Uddhav Thackeray faction propped up his son as its candidate.

The BJP, it is learnt, wants to field its candidate in Mumbai North-West as part of its seat-sharing understanding with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Mr Nirupam, who switched to the Shiv Sena to Congress in 2005, had earlier said that “all options are open” for him.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said people like Mr Nirupam are “always welcome” if his thoughts align with the BJP. “Seeing the political tenure of Sanjay Nirupam, he has done a lot of work for connecting people with Congress. He is well-recognised in North India. Talks with Sanjay Nirupam have not happened yet, but if he is ready and his thoughts align with the BJP, then people like him are always welcome,” he said.

The Eknath Shinde-led Sena has also sent out feelers. “If he wants to join us, we welcome him. However, the final decision in this regard lies with Eknath Shinde,” MLA Sanjay Shirsat has said.

Mumbai:

The Maharashtra unit of the Congress is prepping a proposal to expel party leader Sanjay Nirupam for his recent remarks against INDIA ally, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), over seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha election. The proposal would be sent across to the Congress high command in Delhi and the party’s disciplinary committee will take the final call.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Congress committee, which has also decided to push for the removal of Mr Nirupam from the party’s list of star campaigners in the run-up to the polls. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said, “We have taken him off as a star campaigner and have also initiated disciplinary action against him over the statements he made.”

A former MP of both the House of Parliament, Mr Nirupam has been hitting out at the Uddhav Thackeray-led party ever since it named its candidates for the Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

Why Is Sanjay Nirupam Upset

The bone of contention is the Mumbai North-West seat – Mr Nirupam wants to contest the seat, 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 election. Gajanan Kirtikar sided with Eknath Shinde after the Shiv Sena split. In a sharp move, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party fielded his son Amol from the seat. Gajanan Kirtikar has now said that he would not contest against his son. The BJP, it is learnt, wants to field its candidate there as part of its seat-sharing understanding with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Verbal Attacks On Ally

Mr Nirupam has said the Congress leadership should not allow itself to be arm-twisted by Uddhav Thackeray’s party. Soon after the Sena list was out, he told news agency PTI, “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. Shiv Sena (UBT) arm-twisted the Congress to take five of the six 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,” he said.

Mr Nirupam also alleged that Sena’s candidate Amol Kirtikar took bribes during a free food initiative for migrant labourers during Covid, also known as Khichdi Scam.

In a personal attack on Uddhav Thackeray, he said he was the “bachi khuchi Shiv Sena pramukh”, taking a swipe at the split in his party after the Eknath Shinde-led mutiny.

Is Sanjay Nirupam Switching Parties

Mr Nirupam has dropped broad hints over his next step. Last week, the former Mumbai Congress chief said he is waiting for the high command to take a decision over the issues he has raised and added that “all options are open for me”.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said that people like Mr Nirupam are “always welcome” in the party if he is ready and his thoughts align with the BJP. “Seeing the political tenure of Sanjay Nirupam, he has done a lot of work for connecting people with Congress. He is well-recognised in North India. Talks with Sanjay Nirupam have not happened yet, but if he is ready and his thoughts align with the BJP, then people like him are always welcome,” he said.

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

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

New Delhi:

Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Nirupam today urged the party to consider pulling the plug on their alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT). Mr Nirupam’s remarks come hours after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party snubbed Congress and independently released its list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“The way Shiv Sena UBT has taken 5 seats of Mumbai. It seems that there is a plan to bury Congress in Mumbai. It seems that Shiv Sena wants to force Congress to kneel,” the senior Congress leader told reporters.

“I appeal to the Congress leadership to intervene otherwise break the alliance with Shiv Sena. If Shiv Sena thinks it can fight alone then it is making a big mistake,” Mr Nirupam added.

#ElectionsWithNDTV | “If Congress wants to save the party, it should break alliance with Shiv Sena”: Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Uddhav Thackeray-Sena’s first list of candidates for #LokSabhaElection2024pic.twitter.com/AXLAgEtgBk

— NDTV (@ndtv) March 27, 2024

Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80), will vote in five phases starting from April 19. Results will be announced on June 4.

The three parties which are part of the opposition alliance in Maharashtra – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) – have been unable to finalise a seat-sharing plan despite a flurry of meetings before polling in the state begins.

Team Thackeray finally took a call and announced its candidates for 16 seats in the state. The party is yet to announce any candidate for Mumbai South-Central, a seat which the Shiv Sena (UBT) as well as Congress are keen to contest.

Sanjay Nirupam also hit out at Sena’s choice of candidate, which includes Amol Kirtikar, who was today served a notice by the Enforcement Directorate for an alleged multi-crore ‘khichdi’ scam during the Covid pandemic.

“Shiv Sena has forced an accused of the Khichdi scam as a candidate. I will not work for a Khichdi thief,” he said.

He also took at his party saying that Shiv Sena (UBT) announcing a list is a failure of Congress’s top leadership.

“I will wait for a week for the Congress leadership to take a decision after which I am open to all the options,” Mr Nirupam said.

Recently, Mr Nirupam also made remarks on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest which were not in line with the party’s official. While the Congress condemned the arrest and attacked the BJP over the matter, Sanjay Nirupam called for Kejriwal’s resignation after his arrest.

Mr Nirupam reportedly wants to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai North West seat and his recent remarks against the Congress have sparked rumours that he could switch to the ruling BJP alliance, which is yet to announce a candidate for the seat.