Maharashtra BJP rebels may face expulsion

The BJP state core committee meeting is likely to ‘expel’ those who are found guilty of working against the party’s interests in any manner, a top party leader said here.

Former minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that the meeting also decided to speak with the leaders like Eknath Khadse and Pankaja Munde – who are both sulking for various reasons since the past few weeks, making the BJP jittery.

Mungantiwar said that Khadse had submitted some evidences pertaining to people who had allegedly acted against the party’s interests in the last assembly polls, which would be addressed and such persons found guilty could face ‘expulsion’.

It maybe recalled that last week, Khadse had met Munde and later claimed before the media that some persons had worked against the party’s candidates like Rohini Khadse and (Pankaja) Munde, who lost the assembly elections in October.

The duo again had a long meeting in Beed on Tuesday, ahead of the rally organised at Gopinath Gad by Munde in memory of her father, the late union minister Gopinath Munde, on December 12.

While Khadse said he is not a member of the core committee nor was invited for it, Munde remained absent after informing the party leadership, and also kept away from a regional meeting held in Aurangabad on Monday.

The meeting held here late on Tuesday also discussed the party strategy during the upcoming winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature where it will be sitting in the opposition for the first time.

Present at last night’s core committee included bigwigs like state party President Chandrakant Patil, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, Mungantiwar, Ashish Shelar, several former ministers, and other prominent leaders.-IANS news