In a significant development ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, the state’s Congress chief, Nana Patole, announced the expulsion of two MLAs, Zeeshan Siddique and Jitesh Antapurkar, from the party on Friday, August 30, 2024.
While Patole did not explicitly reveal the reasons for their expulsion, the decision comes just over a month after it was discovered that seven Congress MLAs had cross-voted during the biennial elections for 11 Legislative Council seats. This incident sparked internal turmoil within the party, prompting a move to discipline the dissenters.
When questioned about the expulsion of Siddique and Antapurkar, Patole simply stated that there was no point in further discussion as they were no longer members of the Congress party.
Zeeshan Siddique, who represents the Bandra (East) constituency in Mumbai, is the son of former Congress leader Baba Siddique, who recently joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Jitesh Antapurkar, on the other hand, was elected from Deglur in Nanded district.
With the Assembly elections in Maharashtra scheduled for November 2024, the Congress party’s expulsion of these two MLAs is seen as a move to consolidate its position and present a united front ahead of the crucial polls. The decision reflects the party’s determination to address internal dissent and strengthen its standing within the state’s political landscape.
