Chandigarh: Four days ahead of Assembly elections in Haryana, ruling Congress in the state on Saturday expelled 43 party members for contesting against official nominees.
The party also expelled three others-- former Cabinet Minister A C Chaudhary and two former MLAs Anil Thakkar and Mani Ram Keharwala-- for allegedly working against the party in the run up to the October 15 elections to the 90-member state Assembly.
The party said state unit President Ashok Tanwar has ordered expulsion of the 43 rebel candidates and three others.
Tanwar has also asked party units at the district levels to identify all those working against official candidates and not cooperating, a party statement said.
He said names of all such party men be sent to the Congress headquarters here by October 22 so that action can be taken against them.
The 43 rebel candidates expelled from the party include former Union Deputy Communications Minister Jai Parkash, former Haryana Cabinet Minister Sukhbir Kataria and a number of former MLAs.
Jai Parkash and Kataria are contesting as Independent candidates from Kalayat and Gurgaon, respectively.
Maman Khan, who was a member of the party's manifesto committee for the elections, has also been expelled. He is contesting as an Independent candidate from Ferozepur Jhirka.
Among those expelled also include a number of office bearers including presidents of District Congress Committees (DCCs) of various districts like Jind, Yamuna Nagar and Gurgaon.
Former chief of Congress Sewa Dal, Haryana, Satvinder Singh Rana has also been expelled as he is contesting as a BSP nominee from Kalka after Congress did not name him as a candidate.
Ravinder Rawal, former President of Municipal Corporation of Panchkula, has also been expelled as he is contesting as a nominee of HJC-BL.
Out of the 43 rebel candidates of Congress, three are contesting as HJC-BL nominees, two each as BSP and BJP, and one each as Haryana Janshakti Chetna Party-V and Haryana Lok Tantrik (HLP) nominees.
