Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 5 (ANI): In a stern disciplinary move, the Congress party has expelled two of its candidates for withdrawing their nominations from the ongoing Legislative Council elections without prior authorisation from the party leadership.

Maharashtra Congress State President Harshvardhan Sapkal announced the expulsion on Friday, confirming that the party membership of both individuals has been cancelled with immediate effect. The action follows the withdrawal of candidature by Sahebrao Kamble, who was contesting from the Yavatmal constituency, and Shailesh Agarwal, the party's nominee from the Chandrapur constituency.

The decision was taken after it was discovered that both candidates had withdrawn their applications while keeping the state leadership completely in the dark. The move is seen as an effort by the state unit to enforce strict party discipline and maintain organisational integrity during the crucial election cycle.

Confirming the move via a formal social media post on X, the Maharashtra Congress via its official handle 'INCMaharashtra' stated that, on the orders of State President Harshvardhan Sapkal, both candidates have been suspended from the party and their memberships have been terminated.

'On the orders of State President Shri. Harshvardhan Sapkal, Congress party candidate from Yavatmal, Sahebrao Kambale, and from Chandrapur, Shailesh Agarwal, who withdrew their nomination papers in the Legislative Council elections, are being suspended from the Congress party, and their party membership is being terminated,' the post read.

Polling for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections is scheduled to be held on June 18, while counting of votes will take place on June 22.

The election cycle covers 17 local authorities' constituencies across the state, including Solapur, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Amravati, Sangli-Satara, Ahilyanagar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Jalna, Nanded, Beed-Latur-Dharashiv, Jalgaon, Thane, Nashik, Parbhani, Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Pune, Nagpur, and Wardha-Gadchiroli.

The electoral contest features a direct face-off between the ruling Mahayuti Alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Mahayuti Alliance is fielding candidates across all 17 seats, with the BJP contesting 11, Shiv Sena 4, and the NCP 2. Conversely, the MVA had initially partitioned the 17 seats among its partners, allocating 9 to Congress, 6 to Shiv Sena (UBT), and 3 to the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).

Following the withdrawal of candidates from six of their allotted constituencies, the Congress party is now left with only three candidates officially in the fray for the upcoming elections. (ANI)