The disciplinary committee of the Madhya Pradesh Congress recently convened to address alleged "anti-party" activities during the November 2023 state assembly polls, where the party suffered a massive drubbing at the hands of the BJP. Nearly 150 local leaders have been issued show-cause notices, which must be responded to within 10 days, reported news agency PTI. Failure to provide a satisfactory reply may result in expulsion from the party, a committee official told PTI.
The committee, led by Ashok Singh, who is also the MPCC treasurer, said that the party would take action against those engaging in "anti-party" activities if they fail to submit satisfactory responses within the given timeframe. This move by the Congress comes more than a month after the assembly poll results were announced. It is part of the party's efforts to restore order internally before the upcoming general elections and to convey a clear message that internal sabotage and indiscipline will not be tolerated.
The decision to take a firm stance is largely influenced by numerous complaints from the majority of the 164 unsuccessful nominees, who attributed their defeat to "internal sabotage".
A senior Congress functionary stated, "If we don't get a satisfactory explanation from those who had been served notices, we are going to expel them." The party is keen on addressing the grievances raised during meetings of the state Congress's election and political affairs committees, where defeated candidates and district office-bearers called for strong action against those deemed detrimental to the party's interests.
During the disciplinary committee's meeting, members endorsed the decision to expel party rebels who contested the assembly polls against official candidates, according to PTI. The Congress has already expelled several rebels who went against the party's leadership.
In the November 2023 assembly elections, the ruling BJP secured a sweeping victory by winning 163 out of the total 230 seats, significantly reducing the Congress tally to 66.