The Congress in Maharashtra on Monday expelled five members, including Madan Bhosle, son of former MPCC chief Prataprao Bhosle, for defying party diktat and contesting as independents for the October 13 assembly polls.

Besides Bhosle, those expelled for six years include Sanjay Patil (Tasgaon constituency), Babasaheb Dhose (Srigonda), Harbans Singh (Navi Mumbai) and Bhimrao Dhonde (Ashti), party leader Govindrao Adik said in Mumbai.

Bhosle, who is contesting as an independent from Wai in Satara district, has already resigned from the party.