Rahul Gandhi recently held a meeting with Mumbai Congress leaders where leaders expressed displeasure over the working style of incumbent Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad. They complained that, although they had fully cooperated with her in the Lok Sabha elections, she did not reciprocate during the state assembly elections. Besides, after the polls, no leader was consulted while chalking out the party’s programs. Rahul Gandhi patiently listened to them and told them that the Congress party is the natural glue, so they should also work as a cohesive unit, not as separate entities within the party.
No end to grand old party’s electoral woes
After losing the assembly elections, Congress in Maharashtra is trying to bounce back, but its half-hearted efforts under the leadership of political light-weight Harshvardhan Sapkal are not paying off. Therefore, the party cadre is looking at credible secular options either close to power or in power. Several senior Congress leaders and their supporters are in talks with the NCP, led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Most party leaders do not see their future with the Congress, as it has slipped below a 10% vote share. It has been observed in several states, such as UP, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, that it is nearly impossible to bounce back once the Congress’ vote share dips below 10%.
Munde’s search for solace continues
Silence is the best option when everything is chaos around you. This is concerning NCP MLA and former minister Dhanjay Munde. He had to resign after his close aide Walmik Karad was found to have been the mastermind in the Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case. Since then, Munde has been seeking solace. Having lost the ministership, he also holds no key position in the party. He reportedly joined a fortnight-long Vipassana course at Igatpuri near Nashik, where he has to do something challenging for politicians to achieve: maintain silence for 8-10 hours during daily meditation and eat only Satvik food.
Sudhir Suryawanshi
Our correspondent in Maharashtra
suryawanshi.sudhir@gmail.com