THANE: Former Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, along with his family, joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday.
The former Mumbai MP had left the undivided Shiv Sena nearly two decades ago.
Nirupam joined Congress in 2005 and was appointed as general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. He won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 elections, defeating BJP veteran Ram Naik by a narrow margin in a keenly fought contest.
He held various positions in the Grand Old Party in the last 19 years and had also headed the city unit, before falling out of grace of the party leadership.
The Congress expelled Nirupam last month for six years for “indiscipline and anti-party statements”, days after he gave a “one-week ultimatum” to the party over the Mumbai North-West seat, which he was eyeing.
Nirupam on Friday joined the Shiv Sena here in CM Shinde's presence.
Nirupam had served as editor of 'Dophar Ka Saamana', the Hindi mouthpiece of undivided Shiv Sena, earlier.