Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole announced on Friday (August 30, 2024) the expulsion of MLAs Zeeshan Siddique and Jitesh Antapurkar from the party, just ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Mr. Patole did not provide specific reasons for their expulsion, though the move comes over a month after it was revealed that seven Congress MLAs had cross-voted in the biennial elections for 11 Legislative Council seats.
When asked about Mr. Siddique and Mr. Antapurkar, the Congress State chief said that there was no point in discussing them further, as they had already been expelled from the party.
Mr. Siddique, who represents Bandra (East) constituency in Mumbai, is the son of former Congress leader Baba Siddique, who had recently joined the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. While Mr. Antapurkar was elected from Deglur in Nanded district.
Assembly elections in the Western State are scheduled for November, 2024.
