Rebels to be shown the door: Maharashtra BJP chief Bawankule

Nagpur: With the last date of withdrawal of nominations expiring, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekar Bawankule on Tuesday said the party will crack the whip against rebels and suspend them for six years.

The rebellion by those who have been denied tickets has posed a headache for both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state ahead of the November 20 assembly polls.

Monday was the last day for the withdrawal of nominations.

Senior leader and former MP Gopal Shetty withdrew his nomination filed as an independent candidate from Mumbai’s Borivali seat on Monday after being persuaded by the BJP to opt out of the poll race.

The ruling BJP also managed to get some of the other rebels withdraw their nominations.

Bawankule said some rebels have tendered resignation, while the party will be removing some of them.

“By today evening, we will be closing the party’s doors for them and they will be suspended for six years. This process is going on and we are doing an analysis of who left (rebels) and who all left with them. Subsequently, action will be taken by evening,” he said.