A day after being expelled from Congress for alleged ‘indiscipline’, Sanjay Nirupam clarified on Thursday that the disciplinary action against him came following his resignation from the party’s primary membership. The Congress, on Wednesday, expelled the prominent Maharashtra leader for six years, citing anti-party statements made amid seat-sharing talks with Shiv Sena (UBT) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Nirupam, a former Member of Parliament, took to social media to share a screenshot of his resignation mail to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, stating, “Looks like immediately after the party received my resignation letter last night, they decided to issue my expulsion. Good to see such promptness. Just sharing this information.” The 59-year-old journalist-turned-politician also removed ‘Congressman’ from his social media bio.

In his resignation letter to Kharge, Nirupam wrote, “I have finally decided to fulfil your much-awaited desire and hereby announce that I choose to resign from the primary membership of All India Congress Committee.”

The action against Nirupam came after the Maharashtra unit of the Congress initiated disciplinary proceedings for his recent remarks targeting party ally Shiv Sena (UBT) in the state. The Congress had earlier dropped Nirupam’s name as a star campaigner following his criticism of the party leadership for conceding Mumbai constituencies to the Shiv Sena during seat-sharing talks. Nirupam, who was eyeing to contest from Mumbai’s North-West seat, expressed dissatisfaction over the Sena (UBT) fielding Amol Kirtikar. Notably, Nirupam is a former two-time Rajya Sabha MP from (undivided) Shiv Sena and an ex-Mumbai North Lok Sabha MP of the Congress. Speculation has arisen regarding Nirupam’s potential affiliation with either BJP or Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde