Congress infighting: More dissent in party, now Wadettiwar hits out at Patole

STRAP: ‘MVA govt collapsed because of Speaker’s resignation’ After Balasaheb Thorat, it’s Vijay Wadettiwar, a senior leader from the Vidarbha region, who has trained his guns on Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole

STRAP: ‘MVA govt collapsed because of Speaker’s resignation’

Mumbai, India - June 24, 2019: Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar was appointed as the new Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai, India, on Monday, June 24, 2019. (Photo by Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times) (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

After Balasaheb Thorat, it’s Vijay Wadettiwar, a senior leader from the Vidarbha region, who has trained his guns on Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole. According to Wadettiwar, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government would not have collapsed, had Patole continued as the Speaker of the state assembly. Significantly, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ also remarked that Patole’s resignation sparked off a chain of events that led to the collapse of the MVA government.

Wadettiwar made the statement after meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and briefing him on the state of affairs in the Maharashtra Congress on Tuesday evening. Both Wadettiwar and Patole come from the Vidarbha region, which is an erstwhile stronghold of the party and where it faces strong competition from the BJP.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress In-Charge H K Patil is scheduled to come to Mumbai on February 12. Patil will meet Balasaheb Thorat, the seniormost Congress leader in the state, who expressed his inability to work with Patole in a letter sent to Kharge on February 2. Patil will also be meeting senior leaders to take their views on the matter after reviewing the ‘Hath Se Hath Jodo’ programme undertaken by the grand old party against the recent communal divide in the country.

The development assumes significance considering the ongoing friction in the party, as Thorat has also resigned from his Congress legislative party (CLP) position recently. “It appears that the party leadership is also here to try and defuse the situation and put things in order,” said a senior leader, wishing to remain anonymous.

Patil is visiting Mumbai three days ahead of the state executive committee meeting called by Patole on February 15 to discuss issues and the party’s strategy for the upcoming polls.

“Patole was the assembly Speaker and was handling the business really well,” Wadettiwar said. “He had control over the affairs of the House, and was a strong and erudite Speaker. But he resigned, and after his resignation, the position remained vacant, which paved the way for the fall of the government.”

Patole resigned to take over as state Congress chief in February 2021. The post of Speaker could not be filled, as the three parties — the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) — feared sabotage in the election. The charge went to deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal, which became an indirect hindrance in the proceedings to disqualify Shinde and other Sena MLAs.

Wadettiwar is not alone. Most senior leaders are believed to be unhappy with Patole’s style of functioning. “The state Congress president did not wish to take everyone along, and the whispers against him came to the fore with the Satyajeet Tambe episode,” said a leader. Tambe rebelled against the party decision and successfully contested the council election as an independent candidate from the Nashik Teacher’s Constituency. Tambe, maternal nephew of Thorat, has also blamed Patole for conspiring against his family.

The Congress in Maharashtra has always been a house divided, and in Patole’s case, it is believed that all groups are displeased with him. “I don’t think anyone is happy with him,” said a senior leader, part of one of the factions. “There is a possibility that the leadership will go for a change and bring in a new team, as we have also got a new leader, Mallikarjun Kharge, at the helm of party affairs.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also said that Patole’s resignation as Speaker set off a chain of events that led to the fall of the MVA government. “The post of assembly Speaker is crucial in a coalition government and particularly during a time of crisis,” states the editorial. “If Patole had continued in the position, many political developments that led to the fall of the MVA government could have been avoided. It would have been easy to disqualify the rebels (including Eknath Shinde, who led the rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray) at an early stage and the MVA government could have survived.”

“After Patole’s resignation, the governor (Bhagat Singh Koshyari) did not allow an election to choose a new Speaker, and that benefited the rebel MLAs (‘khokebaaz’) and their ‘mahashakti’ (super power) in Delhi. The decision to resign from the post of Speaker was immature,” the editorial added.

Patole, reacting to the claims made by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and his own party leaders, said he had resigned from the Speaker’s position following the orders of his party leadership. “I will not tolerate this questioning of their decision,” he said.

With inputs from Saurabha Kulshreshtha