Lucknow Press
Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024: The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) suspended seven additional rebel candidates on Sunday night to curb anti-party activities just ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party has intensified disciplinary action. The suspended leaders include Shamkant Saner, Rajendra Thakur, Aba Bagul, Manish Anand, Suresh Kumar Jethaliya, Kalyan Borade and Chandrapaul Chouksey. Earlier in the day, the MPCC suspended 21 other rebels, taking the total number of suspensions to 28 in 22 constituencies.
The list of leaders already suspended includes Anandrao Gedam, Shilu Chimurkar, Sonal Kove, Bharat Yereme, Abhilasha Gavture, Premsagar Ganvir, Ajay Lanjewar, Vilas Patil, Asma Jawad Chikhalekar, Hanskumar Pandey, Kamal Vyavahare, Mohanrao Dandekar, Mangal Vilas Bhujwal, Manoj Shinde, Suresh Patilkhade, Vijay Khadse, Shabbir Khan, Avinash Lad, Yagavalya Jichkar, Raju Jhode and Rajendra Muka.
These suspended candidates are contesting elections against the official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Earlier, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had said that all party rebels contesting elections against official MVA candidates will face a six-year suspension.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election is scheduled to be held on November 20, with the counting of votes for all 288 constituencies taking place on November 23. The opposition MVA alliance, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is seeking to capture power in the state by challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which comprises Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena 56 and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122, Shiv Sena 63 and Congress 42 seats.
