Thane: More than fifty officer-bearers of the district unit of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) here today resigned from the party to protest the sudden removal of the city unit chief Neelesh Chavan.

Those who quit included various wing chiefs, ward presidents, district co-ordinators, etc. Chavan has been replaced by Avinash Jadhav. According to local MNS leaders, the decision came out of the blue and local unit was not taken into confidence before effecting the change.