BHUBANESHWAR: The Congress on Monday expelled veteran leader and Jatni MLA Suresh Routray from the party for allegedly campaigning for his younger son Manmath, a BJD candidate for Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat. The Congress has fielded Yashir Nawaz for the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat.
“Taking note of the complaints of indiscipline and anti-party activities, the Congress president has approved the expulsion of Suresh Routray from the party for six years with immediate effect,” read the order issued by the general secretary of All India Congress Committee, K C Venugopal.
The development comes a day after the party denied Suresh a ticket from Jatni, a constituency he represented six times starting from 1977 as a Janata Dal candidate and in 1980, 1985, 1995, 2000 and 2019 as a Congress nominee. The party has fielded Santosh Jena from Jatni which comes under the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat.
Suresh (79), a former minister, was in the eye of the storm after alleged videos surfaced showing him canvassing for votes for his son. The Congress veteran was seen in the midst of several BJD leaders, including Manmath, in parks and other events, allegedly seeking votes for his son.
A red-faced Congress had recently served him with a show-cause notice as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
“We found that he continuously campaigned for his son, who is a BJD candidate. This sent a negative signal,” a senior Congress leader said.
Suresh said his expulsion was unjustified. “I have been expelled without any fault of mine. I did not seek votes for my son. The Congress is angry with me as Manmath joined the BJD instead of Congress. The Congress put pressure on me to ask my son to return the BJD ticket. When I declined, the party expelled me,” Suresh said, whose elder son Sidharth is aspiring for a Congress ticket from Nimapara assembly seat.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Debabrata Mohapatra is an Assistant Editor at The Times of India,...
Read MoreDebabrata Mohapatra is an Assistant Editor at The Times of India, Bhubaneswar. He had been writing for TOI from Puri since 2006 before joining the Bhubaneswar bureau in August 2010. He covers crime, law & order and Congress.
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