Narayan Rane, Sanjay Nirupam taking centre stage upset many in Congress

The resignation of senior leader Gurudas Kamat has set tongues wagging within the Congress on how Narayan Rane, who had publicly admonished the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Ahmed Patel, has been rewarded with a Legislative Council seat, while many able leaders and clean image and organisational experience were ignored.

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The second example cited is of Sanjay Nirupam, the head of Mumbai Congress, who had in the past spoken against party president Sonia Gandhi. Many leaders said Kamat and his supporters, who had been working silently, were meted out secondary treatment.

The recommendation of Rane’s candidature, however, had the approval of MPCC chief Ashok Chavan and AICC’s Maharashtra in-charge Mohan Prakash. The argument in Rane’s favour was that his aggression would help the party attack the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine in the House.

Highly placed sources in the MPCC said the party still did not have any concrete strategy to determine the roadmap ahead. “After the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections, the AICC has not convened a single meeting to discuss how to refurbish the image of the party. All the decisions are being taken in piecemeal without adequate consultations with the loyal Congress leaders,” said a senior leader.

More than Rane’s nomination for the Legislative Council, what has upset a section in the Congress is the decision not field a second candidate from the party. As a result, out of the three seats up for grabs, Congress got only one, and the NCP bagged two.

The logic of strengthening the NCP at the cost of Congress has not gone down well with the party. They believe the NCP is always working at cross purposes with the Congress.

A senior functionary said, “Today, BJP finds itself in dock for charges of corruption against its senior leader Eknath Khadse. Yet, MPCC chief Ashok Chavan could not adopt an aggressive stand against the BJP, as any move on his part would lead to counter attack with questions raised on the controversial Adarsh housing scam.”

Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had recommended that the Congress should field two candidates for the Legislative Council polls. The other candidate could be former minister Harshvardhan Patil.

A former Congress minister said, “The AICC appears to be totally overlooking the challenges ahead in the state, and changing political scenario and aspirations of the generation next.”

The developments in the Congress following the resignation of senior leader Gurudas Kamat is being cited as the beginning of trouble within the party.