Congress will just win 3-4 seats in Mumbai: Sanjay Nirupam

For days now, tensions between Nirupam and Milind Deora, another prominent leader of Maharashtra Congress, have been brewing.

In March, Deora had replaced Nirupam as president of Congress' Mumbai unit, a decision which naturally infuriated the latter.

After Congress failed to win even one Lok Sabha seat in Mumbai, Nirupam went all out against Deora asking him to step up and take the responsibility.

Hostility between Congress' "stars" served as a domino effect prompting a couple of resignations. Actress Urmila Matondkar quit Congress last month, saying she is fed up with petty politics.

Even Kripashankar Singh quit but he said his decision was driven by Congress' stand on Article 370.

To recall, the grand old party opposed BJP's move to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two UTs.

The rift widened on Thursday after Nirupam revealed the top brass of Congress ignored his suggestion of fielding Rais Lashkaria from the Versova assembly constituency. According to him, he took up this matter with Mallikarjun Kharge and Jyotiraditya Scindia too, but to no avail.

He said, "If the party cannot consider just one proposal, the day is not far when I'll have to quit."

On Friday, Nirupam addressed a press meet where he went all guns blazing against Congress. He claimed people close to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi are "hatching" a conspiracy against her son and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

"Congress' hierarchy structure is extremely faulty and will cause the party more problems in the future," Nirupam, dressed in a yellow kurta for the occasion, said.

He also said that he wasn't consulted when choosing candidates for Mumbai North, his "stronghold".

"I understand the Congress in Maharashtra like no other leader can. Yet I was not included in decision-making for the polls. If it was just one seat, then I could try and tolerate it. But in the entire district, that I should have no say, is unacceptable," he said.