Maharashtra Congress Expels Two MLAs Ahead Of The State Assembly Polls

The Maharashtra state unit of the Congress on August 30, 2024 sacked Legislators Zeeshan Siddique and Jitesh Antapurkar from the party. This move is being seen as a signal to the dissidents in the party to fall in line as it prepares for the upcoming state assembly elections expected to be held in November, 2024.

Although the state Congress unit Chief Nana Patole did not disclose the reason behind the two MLAs expulsion, their sacking was anticipated after both had allegedly indulged in anti-party activities.

For instance, Antapurkar, who is a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Deglur in Nanded District, is seen as a staunch supporter of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who left Congress to join BJP earlier this year.

Notably, Antapurkar is said to be one of the seven Congress MLAs who had cross voted in favour of the ruling Mahayuti’s candidates in the recently held Legislative Council polls.

On the other hand, Siddique, an MLA from the Bandra East seat in the Mumbai Suburban District, too was expected to be removed from the party after his father Baba Siddique left Congress to join the Ajit Pawar–led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Both – the father and the son, had been expressing displeasure with the party’s functioning since the past few months, especially over its alliance with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Siddique junior had also criticised Congress for not fielding any Muslim candidate from Mumbai in the recently held Lok Sabha polls.