The BJP on Wednesday expelled 37 members across the state who were planning to contest as Independents.

Despite repeatedly being told to withdraw their candidature, these candidates did not pay heed to the party’s request.

“In the BJP, there is no scope for anti-party activities. Party leaders tried to reason with each leader but those who fail to conform to party norms have to pay the price,” a party functionary said.

State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule explained that this action was taken due to the members’ indiscipline and disregard for party orders.

A letter signed by BJP office secretary Mukund Kulkarni listed the names of the rebels and their constituencies. Amongst the prominent names were Tushar Bhartiya (Badnera), Jagdish Gupta (Amravati), Pramod Gadrel (Achalpur), Dharmendranath Thakur (Jogeshwari East), Balasaheb Murkute (Newasa) and Brijbhushan Pazare (Chandrapur).

The letter stated that rebellion was a violation of party discipline and said these individuals were being immediately expelled from the party.