Cracking the whip on MPs who defied the party in Parliament, the BJP today expelled eight Lok Sabha members, who bailed out the UPA government either by cross-voting or remaining absent during voting in the confidence motion.

"We have expelled eight MPs who either cross-voted or abstained during the trust vote," BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters here after a meeting of senior party leaders at Leader of Opposition L K Advani's residence.

While four MPs were expelled for voting in favour of the government in the trust vote in Lok Sabha last night, four others faced the action for remaining absent.

The expelled Lok Sabha members are Brijbhushan Sharan Singh (Balrampur), Manjunath (Dharwad), Chandrabhan Singh (Damoh), H T Sangliana (Bangalore North), Manorama (Udipi), Haribhav Madhav (Jalgaon), Babubhai Katara (Dohad) and Somabhai Patel (Surendranagar).

"But for cross-voting and abstentions, the UPA would not have won. This government was formed with the help of tainted people who were included in the ministry...This is a tainted victory," Advani said.

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