No friendly fight in MVA, Cong suspends all rebels

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said all the party rebels contesting against the official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have been suspended for six years.

Addressing a press conference, Chennithala said the district units have been asked to prepare a list of rebels still in the fray for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls and serve notices to them.

"There will be no friendly fights. All the rebels contesting against the MVA's official candidates have been suspended," the All India Congress Committee in-charge of Maharashtra said.

The opposition MVA comprises the Congress, the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray of Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar.

Chennithala said the MVA's manifesto will be released on November10.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as well as other senior Congress leaders and the chief ministers of Karnataka and Telangana will campaign for the MVA candidates in Maharashtra, he said.

Kharge will be in Maharashtra for five days from November 13. Rahul Gandhi will campaign on November 12, 14 and 16 and Priyanka Gandhi will also be in the state on November 13, 16 and 17.