Mumbai: Congress youth leader served show-cause notice

(From left) Arif Naseem Khan, Congress leader. File Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Maharashtra Congress has issued a show-cause notice to Suraj Singh Thakur, a local youth leader and All India Congress Committee member, for allegedly working against the party's Assembly election candidate from Chandivli constituency. The notice issued by the party's state general secretary, Nana Gawande, said that Congress' Chandivli candidate Arif Naseem Khan had complained against Thakur for working against his candidature. Khan, who polled 1,04,016 votes, lost the contest to Shiv Sena's Dilip Lande by a margin of 20,625 votes.

Suraj Singh Thakur, AICC member. Pic/Facebook

Party in-charge general secretary Ramesh Chennithala and state president Nana Patole had instructed that the notice be issued to Thakur, asking him to explain in seven days why he should not be suspended from the party for breaching discipline or else face disciplinary action. When contacted, Thakur confirmed the notice and said he had questioned it because it bore the date October 24, 2024, while the Maharashtra Assembly election was held on November 20.

Thakur alleged it was a conspiracy by Khan because he had also demanded a ticket from Chandivli and Khan perceived him as a political threat as he was a popular North Indian leader. "The date on the notice established that Khan had planned it well in advance. Khan filed his nomination papers on October 24. The allegations are baseless," Thakur wrote in a letter to MPCC.