After crushing defeat for Congress, murmurs of leadership change in Maharashtra surface

According to sources within the Congress, the humiliating defeat in the assembly polls where it has touched the lowest number ever since Maharashtra’s formation has not been taken lightly by the party high command who have sought answers.

Patole, who was confident of his party winning the elections, is now trying to quell the fire in Delhi. The party managed to win only 16 out of 101 assembly seats it contested. Patole himself managed to scrape through to victory in Sakoli by just over 200 votes.

“The worst possible performance of the MVA anticipated by the Congress was 90 seats. But now the situation is such that we cannot even have a leader of Opposition for the next five years. This needs to be addressed extremely seriously,” said a senior party leader from Delhi.

Reports have suggested that Patole has offered his resignation from the Maharashtra unit chief post. In an official communication from the party though, the reports were denied. Patole, in Delhi, also said that he has not resigned.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar was asked whether he will accept any new responsibility given to him by the party. “I have always worked with the party and have fulfilled every responsibility given to me,” he said.