Chandigarh:

The Haryana Congress on Thursday expelled seven of its leaders for indulging in “anti-party” activities ahead of civic polls slated for next month.

The leaders have been expelled for six years with immediate effect, according to a party order issued by Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan.

“Consequent upon the receipt of reports through means of communications pertaining to party leaders/workers having found indulged in anti-party activities in the recent past during ongoing process MC Elections-2025, the following persons are expelled from the party for six years with immediate effect,” the order said.

Those expelled include former District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents of Karnal, Tarlochan Singh and Ashok Khurana, party leaders from Yamunanagar, Pradeep Chaudhary and Madhu Chaudhary, senior leader from Hisar, Ram Niwas Rara, party leader from Gurugram, Harvinder, and PCC delegate, Gurugram, Ram Kishan Sain.

The order has been issued in consultation with the incharge, party affairs in Haryana, B K Hariprasad, it said.

Mr Rara and Mr Singh had recently joined the ruling BJP.

Rara had unsuccessfully contested the previous assembly polls while Mr Singh was defeated by former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal assembly seat in the 2019 assembly elections. He lost to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in the May 2024 assembly by-election in the seat.

Mr Khattar is currently a Union minister while Saini, who had won the Karnal assembly seat in the by-election in May last year, fought the October 2024 assembly polls from Ladwa in Kurukshetra and won.

The Haryana State Election Commission had recently announced that the general elections for seven municipal corporations, four municipal councils, and 21 municipal committees will be held on March 2, while voting for the Panipat municipal corporation will take place on March 9.

Polling for the municipal corporations of Faridabad, Gurugram, Manesar, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak and Yamunanagar will be held on March 2.

Congress is contesting the municipal corporation wards and the municipal council president elections on party symbol where the party candidates will take on the ruling BJP.

Congress, which has been out of power in Haryana for more than 10 years and failed to wrest power from the BJP in the October assembly polls, is looking to turn around its electoral fortunes in the civic polls.

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