In Maharashtra, Congress’s new LoP pick sets off change of guard buzz, but Nana Patole sits pretty

Both Wadettiwar, who represents the Bramhapuri constituency in Chandrapur district, and Patole are OBC leaders from the Vidarbha region. This is being seen in Congress circles as an instance of “regional and caste imbalance” in the party leadership roles in the state.

“Both Wadettiwar and Patole are from Vidarbha. Balasaheb Thorat, who is Congress Legislature Party leader, is from North Maharashtra. This means, there is no strong representation in the party hierarchy from Marathwada and Western Maharashtra. There is a clear-cut imbalance. The Congress does not have such a tradition of favouring only one region,” a senior Congress leader said.

Besides the question of representation, Patole’s “high-handed” style of functioning has also drawn fire from a section of the party leaders, who had been making rounds of Delhi to lobby for his removal. Wadettiwar was said to be among such leaders, who has now apparently been pacified with the LoP post.

An internal party report submitted to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge a few months ago had reportedly recommended that Patole be replaced as the MPCC chief with a leader who could take party rank and file along with him.

Former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan were among the leaders whose names were recommended as a possible successor to Patole.

With Congress circles still abuzz with speculation about Ashok Chavan warming up to the BJP, the scales may tilt in this regard in favour of Prithviraj, who is seen as a “sensible voice” in the state party unit, party sources said.

Prithviraj is one of the few senior party leaders who regularly holds press conferences, attacking the Modi government over its perceived failures on various fronts.

Prithviraj was in the spotlight last week when he raised in the Assembly the issue of Sambhaji Bhide’s allegedly derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi. This reverberated through the state, leading to protests and triggering demands for action against Bhide.

Ashok Chavan has meanwhile gone to Delhi, where he would meet senior party leader Rahul Gandhi to compliment him on his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP following the Supreme Court’s order staying his conviction in a defamation case.

Asked whether he was in the race for the new MPCC chief, Prithviraj said Tuesday that the post should go to a younger leader if the party is planning a rejig of the state party unit in the first place. “But I think Patole will remain in the saddle. Yesterday, he himself asserted that he will lead the Congress campaign till the Lok Sabha elections. I think that settles the matter,” he said. Sources close to Chavan said he would have preferred to be appointed the LoP as he has been trying to corner the state government on various issues.

On whether the party was planning to replace the MPCC president, AICC secretary Prithviraj Sathe said, “I think he (Patole) will continue to hold the post of MPCC chief.”

When asked whether Patole’s performance would be reviewed, Sathe said, “The performance of all PCC chiefs across the country is regularly reviewed by the party, this is nothing new. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is likely to meet this month and take stock of the party.”

State Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said, “Patole will remain the MPCC chief. There is no demand to replace him. And there is no challenge to his leadership.”

Londhe also denied that Patole has differences with senior party leaders like Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj. “Only two days back, all three were together at an event,” he said.