diff --git a/multipath/main.c b/multipath/main.c
index 57a5681a8..95f850f1a 100644
--- a/multipath/main.c
+++ b/multipath/main.c
@@ -749,7 +749,7 @@ enum {
 int delegate_to_multipathd(enum mpath_cmds cmd,
 			   __attribute__((unused)) const char *dev,
 			   __attribute__((unused)) enum devtypes dev_type,
-			   const struct config *conf)
+			   struct config *conf)
 {
 	int fd;
 	char command[1024], *p, *reply = NULL;
@@ -767,17 +767,17 @@ int delegate_to_multipathd(enum mpath_cmds cmd,
 	}
 	else if (cmd == CMD_FLUSH_ONE && dev && dev_type == DEV_DEVMAP) {
 		p += snprintf(p, n, "del map %s", dev);
-		/* multipathd doesn't try as hard, to avoid potentially
-		 * hanging. If it fails, retry with the regular multipath
-		 * command */
-		r = NOT_DELEGATED;
+		if (conf->remove_retries > 0) {
+			r = NOT_DELEGATED;
+			conf->remove_retries--;
+		}
 	}
 	else if (cmd == CMD_FLUSH_ALL) {
 		p += snprintf(p, n, "del maps");
-		/* multipathd doesn't try as hard, to avoid potentially
-		 * hanging. If it fails, retry with the regular multipath
-		 * command */
-		r = NOT_DELEGATED;
+		if (conf->remove_retries > 0) {
+			r = NOT_DELEGATED;
+			conf->remove_retries--;
+		}
 	}
 	/* Add other translations here */