Raj Thackeray Claims 1.73 Lakh Hectares Of Forest Land diverted In 11 Years

Mumbai: Facing huge embarrassment, the Congress on Friday expelled two of its candidates who wanted to withdraw from the Legislative Council elections in Maharashtra. The case was filed against the party’s candidate from Yavatmal constituency, Sahebrao Kamble, and its candidate from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli constituency, Shailesh Agarwal.

According to party sources, Kamble and Agarwal were expelled because they withdrew their candidacy without informing the party leadership. This action was initiated by Congress State President Harshvardhan Sapkal and the party memberships of both leaders were cancelled.

Describing the behavior as serious indiscipline, the grand old party said they acted against organizational interests and were expelled immediately. The party said the move was aimed at ensuring discipline in the legislative assembly election process and preventing similar incidents in the future.

While Dushyant Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (Shinde group) was declared elected unopposed from Yavatmal Local Government Constituency, Arun Lakhani of BJP secured an uncontested victory from Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli Local Government Constituency.

Nitin Bhutada, who claimed to be the BJP candidate in Yavatmal, and Congress candidate Sahebrao Kamble withdrew their candidatures, paving the way for Chaturvedi to be elected unopposed. Similarly, in Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli constituency, Shailesh Agrawal withdrew his candidacy, paving the way for Arun Lakhani’s uncontested victory.

The Congress’ action comes a day after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena expelled its candidates Bal Mane and Devyani Dongaonkar for their anti-party activities. While Mane was nominated from Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhdurg constituency, Devyani Dongaonkar was nominated from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna. However, both candidates withdrew their candidacies on the last day when applications were withdrawn.