Anti-Navneet Kaur Rana campaign; NCP expels ex-MLA`s hubby

Mumbai: The NCP on Saturday expelled Sanjay Khodke, husband of former party MLA Sulabha Khodke, for "indulging in anti-party activities and lowering women`s dignity". State NCP president Bhaskar Jadhav, in the expulsion order issued here, said Khodke was being sacked for violating the party discipline. Jadhav also made a veiled reference to alleged anti-Navneet Kaur Rana campaign by stating that, "despite a backward class woman (Navneet Rana) being fielded by NCP from Amravati constituency, you indulged in comments and behaviour which demeaned the dignity of women." The remarks assume significance in the backdrop of speculation that "some elements within NCP" were behind the flood of morphed photos of the actress-turned NCP candidate, which were unleashed on social media platforms. The Amravati constituency is witnessing an election campaign marred by mudslinging where Navneet Rana is at the centre of this unseemly slugfest. The former actress, who migrated here after marriage and is now an NCP candidate, recently accused her Shiv Sena rival and sitting MP Anand Adsul of using foul language and uncharitable remarks on her character in a TV show. Adsul is a Mumbai-based Shiv Sena candidate who is using Vidarbha as his electoral workstation. The Amravati seat is reserved for SC category. The political drama unfolded with NCP deciding to field Navneet Kaur Rana, a model and starlet in Southern cinema. From the moment her nomination was announced, a popular cyber social media forum was flooded with her images, first from the low-grade films she had acted in and then apparently the morphed ones.