Murmurs In Maharashtra Over The Appointment Of New Congress President Greeted

The Congress party is taking steps to bring back its house in order in Maharashtra, the second largest state, electorally. However, the initial signals in response to Rahul Gandhi’s decision to appoint Vidarbha’s Maratha leader Harshwardhan Sapkal as MPCC president are not very heart warming. The party was in search of a leader to occupy the post after incumbent Nana Patole had resigned in the wake of the assembly election debacle. Sapkal’s appointment has been frowned upon by senior party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who was hopeful of occupying the post. A staunch OBC proponent, Wadettiwar was earlier in hot water for publicly praising chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Congress party’s zero performance in the Delhi assembly election for a successive third time has spread a pall of gloom for its workers. Top leaders like Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat have gone into political retirement and have refused to head the state unit. Younger leaders like Vishwajit Kadam and Satej Patil, too, have declined the offer. On top of that, a nondescript worker like Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed to steer it. Sapkal’s only known qualification to be elevated to the post is his close contacts with Meenakshi Natarajan, an inner circle member around Rahul. His first test will be the coming local body elections. His loyalty is not questionable but his ability. Many feel that Rahul should have consulted at least some state leaders before taking this step.