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In an upheaval within the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), 22 party leaders have tendered their resignations simultaneously while expressing anger at not getting tickets for the Lok Sabha elections.

Among the notable figures who stepped down include former minister Renu Kushwaha, former MLA and national general secretary of LJP, Satish Kumar, state organisation minister Ravindra Singh, Ajay Kushwaha, Sanjay Singh and State General Secretary Rajesh Dangi.

The resignation wave appears to stem from grievances within the party ranks, with allegations surfacing about the distribution of tickets in exchange for money.

On her resignation from the party, former MP Renu Kushwaha said, “Ticket should be given to the party workers instead of people the from outside. Tickets were given to the outsiders which means that able people are not there in your party. Are we the labour class people in your party who will work for you, make you a leader? Our devotion was questioned when an outsider was given a ticket. We are not here to serve as labourers for the party.”

Miffed over not getting the ticket, former MLA and national general secretary of LJP Satish Kumar asserted that the rebel LJP leaders will now support the INDIA bloc.

“When such important elections are there in the country, the LJP Supremo has given tickets to such people that the party workers are stunned. The people who used to raise slogans ‘Hail Chirag Paswan’, day and night and hoped for a ‘new Bihar’ have been betrayed, their aspirations were crushed. Now, to save the country, INDI alliance has to be supported. Now we will support the INDI alliance,”

The party’s Organisation Secretary Ravindra Singh claimed that Chirag Paswan “sold the tickets”. “Chirag Paswan has played an emotional game with the people of Bihar. When he got five seats due to our hard work, he sold all those tickets. People of Bihar will give him an answer,” he said.

The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is contesting five out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar – Vaishali, Hajipur, Samastipur, Khagaria and Jamui.

Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The first phase will be held on April 19, the second phase on April 26, the third on May 7, fourth on May 13, fifth on May 20, sixth on May 25, and seventh on June 1.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Capping a day of fast-moving developments, the Congress has expelled Sanjay Nirupam, a senior leader from Maharashtra, for six years for his “anti-party statements”. Earlier on Wednesday, the party had removed him from the list of star campaigners for the Lok Sabha elections and sources had said that a proposal to expel him was being prepared by the state unit to be sent to the central leadership.

The proposal was made after Mr Nirupam made a string of remarks against Congress’ INDIA ally, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and its leader Uddhav Thackeray after it announced some candidates for the Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, including the North West Mumbai seat, which was being eyed by the Congress leader. 

Announcing Mr Nirupam’s expulsion late on Wednesday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said in a statement, “Taking note of the complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, the Hon’ble Congress President has approved the expulsion of Shri Sanjay Nirupam from the party for six years with immediate effect.”

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole had said, “We have taken him (Mr Nirupam) off the list of star campaigners and have also initiated disciplinary action against him over the statements he made.” 

After he was removed as the star campaigner, a defiant Mr Nirupam had said that he would take a decision on leaving the party himself on Thursday. 

Personal Attacks

After the Shiv Sena (UBT), which is in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra with the Congress and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, had declared its list of 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections on March 27. The list included the name of Amol Kirtikar – son of the sitting MP – for the North West Mumbai seat, prompting a tirade from Mr Nirupam.

“The way Shiv Sena UBT has taken five seats of Mumbai. It seems that there is a plan to bury Congress in Mumbai. It seems that Shiv Sena wants to force Congress to kneel,” the senior Congress leader, who has been a Lok Sabha MP from the Mumbai North constituency, a Rajya Sabha MP and the Mumbai unit president of the party. 

Attacking Uddhav Thackeray over the split in the Shiv Sena engineered by the current Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Mr Nirupam called him the “bachi kuchi Shiv Sena pramukh (chief of what’s left of the Shiv Sena)”.

He also hit out at Mr Kirtikar, alleging that he was involved in the ‘Khichdi scam’ – the alleged irregularities in the distribution of food to migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Mr Nirupam’s remarks were seen as adding to the seat-sharing troubles of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is part of the INDIA alliance at the Centre.