Maharashtra Congress plans to replace Nana Patole with young face

Frontrunners for the position include Satej Patil, Vishwajeet Kadam, Yashomati Thakur, Amit Deshmukh and Vijay Wadettiwar

Mumbai: Following its worst-ever performance in assembly polls in Maharashtra in November last year, the Congress is planning to replace its Maharashtra president, Nana Patole, with a young face who will be tasked with rebuilding the party organisation and motivating cadres to plan agitations on various people’s issues. Frontrunners for the position include Satej Patil, Vishwajeet Kadam, Yashomati Thakur, Amit Deshmukh and Vijay Wadettiwar, said party insiders.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole (PTI)

“Deliberations over replacing Patole started after he offered to resign following the party’s crushing defeat in the assembly elections,” a senior party leader told Hindustan Times. The Congress won just 16 seats out of 102 seats it contested as part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in the assembly polls, its lowest ever tally in the state.

“The party leadership is considering appointing a leader aged below 50 years for the position,” the senior leader added.

Patole, who was appointed party president in February 2021, belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, and hails from Vidarbha, an erstwhile Congress bastion.

Among the frontrunners to replace him, Patil (three-term legislator) and Kadam (three-term MLA) are from the party’s traditional support base in western Maharashtra; Thakur (three-term former MLA) and Wadettiwar (three-term MLA and former leader of opposition) hail from Vidarbha; while Deshmukh (four-term MLA) is from Marathwada.

“The party leadership will decide if they want to replace Patole with another OBC or with someone from the Maratha community, which has traditionally supported the Congress,” another senior leader told HT, wishing to remain anonymous.

It would make sense for Congress to appoint a Maratha as state president since the Mahayuti has opted for a Brahmin face, Devendra Fadnavis, to replace Eknath Shinde, a Maratha, as the chief minister in its new term, and the BJP is making conscious efforts to win over OBCs, the leader added.

Given the difficult task of rebuilding the confidence of party cadres and keeping the flock together for the next five years, some leaders are sceptical of taking up the charge, said party sources.

“Factionalism in the party is a key factor and ensuring that all senior leaders accept the new president makes the job even more complex,” said a former minister.

Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s name was suggested for the post by some party leaders, but he declined the same, said sources.

“The party’s Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala had asked Chavan if he was willing to take up the responsibility. But he too suggested that a young face should be considered for the position,” said a Congress insider.

All leaders from Maharashtra are scheduled to be in Delhi on January 15 for the inauguration of the new party headquarters and the issue of Maharashtra state president may be discussed there, said sources.