Days after Lok Sabha cheer, Mumbai Congress returns to fighting ways

“Many corporators have quit and the party is witnessing a downfall in organisational strength. These are important issues that the central leadership needs to be apprised about. Hence, we have sought time from the party president,” the leader said, adding that the political action needed by the party in Mumbai was lacking.

Gaikwad, who defeated the BJP’s Ujjwal Nikam in the recent Lok Sabha polls, said she was unaware of the letter. “If anyone has issues with the party’s organisational strength in Mumbai, they must remember that I am one of the most vocal leaders and have not shied away from taking on big names. Instead of focusing on me, people must focus on contesting and winning the Assembly elections,” she said.

In the Lok Sabha elections that concluded recently, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, which includes the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP), secured 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The Congress alone won 13 seats out of the 17 seats it contested as part of the tie-up, indicating an upswing for the party.

The MVA was ahead of the NDA coalition in the 30-plus Assembly segments falling within Mumbai as well.

In the 2019 Assembly elections, the Congress, which fought in alliance with the NCP, had won 44 of the total 288 seats.

The Mumbai Congress has been a divided house for decades, starting with factionalism between groups led by the late Murli Deora and Gurudas Kamat. Kripashankar Singh was the only leader who seemingly managed a balancing act. However, his successors have borne the brunt of infighting.

Sanjay Nirupam, who took on the reins of the Mumbai Congress from Janardhan Chandurkar and is now with the Shiv Sena, having quit ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, had faced criticism from some quarters for “favouring” Biharis. His successor Milind Deora, who is also in the Shiv Sena now and a Rajya Sabha MP from the party, had resigned abruptly within six months of taking over. Ekanth Gaikwad took over from him, and then Bhai Jagtap, who also faced complaints from within the Mumbai unit.

Sources rued that despite decades of bickering, the central leadership had never dealt comprehensively with the problem.

Gaikwad took over as Mumbai Congress chief in June 2023, becoming the first woman to assume the post. The daughter of Eknath Gaikwad, a prominent Dalit face of the Congress, Varsha Gaikwad has previously been the Dharavi MLA and is a vocal critic of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project being undertaken by the Adani Group.

However, since the start, Gaikwad has been in the crosshairs of senior party leaders, former ministers, MLAs and MPs.

A senior Congress leader from Delhi noted that all the leaders who are complaining against Gaikwad are senior colleagues, with the young faces of the party voicing no such grievances. Adding that “it tells a lot”, the leader said: “We will listen to everybody and try to solve the problems if they are genuine. However, we cannot be pressured into changing the leadership.”