Not all is well within the Mumbai unit of the Congress party as some 16 senior leaders have demanded that the city unit chief Varsha Gaikwad should be replaced. They said, in a letter dated June 16, that replacing Gaikwad would help bolster the party's organisational strength in Mumbai ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra scheduled in October this year, news agency PTI reported citing sources.
They also believe that Varsha Gaikwad, who won from the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat in the recently conducted general polls, would not have the time to work at the organisational level. They also objected to Gaikwad's style of functioning.
A source told news agency PTI that Gaikwad did not call all party workers at a recent protest against the UGC-NET exam chaos, while adding they had to stage a separate protest in suburbs. "It is now 13 months she is the city unit head, but she has not spearheaded any substantial activity to galvanise the party cadre," the source mentioned.
Moreover, Mumbai North Lok Sabha candidate of the party Bhushan Patil also said that he did not get any help from the city unit. Patil said that he could not establish a lead in the Malad assembly segment, held by Congress MLA Aslam Sheikh, in the Lok Sabha polls, the source added.
Signatories of the letter include Rajya Sabha MP and Congress Working Committee member Chandrakant Handore, former city party chiefs Janardhan Chandurkar and Bhai Jagtap, senior leaders Naseem Khan, Suresh Shetty, Madhu Chavan, Charansingh Sapra, Zakir Ahmed and Maharashtra Congress treasurer Amarjit Manhas.
Moreover, the leaders have also sought time from the central leadership of the Congress party to discuss the revival of the party in Mumbai ahead of the assembly elections and the civic polls which are overdue.
Most of these leaders are in Delhi to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary KC Venugopal and senior leader Rahul Gandhi to chalk out strategies to strengthen the party in Mumbai. A Congress party meeting related to Maharashtra is scheduled today, sources added.
In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Congress won only 4 out of the 36 seats in Mumbai. During the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the grand old party won 1 of the 2 seats it contested in the city.