Maharashtra Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday said he will not participate in the state Assembly election campaign. Nirupam, in a tweet, said that he had suggested only one candidate’s name from Mumbai for the elections, but even that was rejected.

“It seems Congress Party doesn’t want my services anymore,” Nirupam tweeted. “I had recommended just one name in Mumbai for Assembly election. Heard that even that has been rejected. As I had told the leadership earlier, in that case I will not participate in poll campaign. It’s my final decision.”

Nirupam also replied to a user who said he should not be allowed to leave the Congress. “I hope that the day has not yet come to say goodbye to party,” Nirupam said. “But the way leadership is behaving with me, it doesn’t seem far away.”

The Maharashtra Assembly elections for 288 seats will be held on October 21, and the results will be declared on October 24.

Former Union minister Milind Deora had replaced Nirupam as the Mumbai Congress chief in March this year, amid reports of infighting. Nirupam was appointed the party’s candidate for the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency for the 2019 elections, but lost.

In July, Nirupam had lashed out at Deora after an explosive letter written by actor-politician Urmila Matondkar to Deora came to light. In the letter, dated May 16, Matondkar criticised the conduct of Nirupam’s associates Sandesh Kondvilkar and Bhushan Patil. The same month, Deora resigned from his post as Mumbai Congress chief.

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