Nana Patole to take charge as Maharashtra Congress chief today

The party’s state in-charge HK Patil, other central observers and key state leaders are expected to attend the function at the August Kranti Maidan

Newly appointed state Congress chief Nana Patole will take charge from his predecessor, state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, at historic August Kranti Maidan in South Mumbai on Friday. Before taking charge, Patole will pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhia and Lokmanya Tilak, and will travel in a bullock cart and tractor to protest against the fuel price hike and highlight farmers issues.

Nana Patole. (HT archive)

Patole, who was appointed as the Maharashtra Congress head last week, had resigned from the post of Assembly speaker a day before his appointment. The party’s state in-charge HK Patil, other central observers and key state leaders are expected to attend the function at the August Kranti Maidan.

Before taking charge, Patole will pay tribute to martyrs from unified Maharashtra movement at Hutatma Chowk, to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue near Mantralaya and travel to Girgaum Chowpatty on a tractor to highlight farmers’ issues. He will pay tribute to Lokmanya Tilak and Subhash Chandra Bose at their statues at Chowpatty. He will then head towards August Kranti Maidan in a bullock cart as notional protest against the fuel price hike.

“It will be a grand procession to highlight the discontent among the general public and farmers against the Modi government,” said a Congress leader.

“Congress party’s strength will be witnessed at the August Kranti Maidan on Friday,” Patole said on Thursday.

Patole, on Thursday, visited religious places of different faiths, including Siddhivinayak Temple, Chaityabhoomi, and a church and mosque at Mahim.

August Kranti Maidan has historic importance as Mahatma Gandhi gave the Quit India call in August 1942 from the ground which was then known as Gowalia Tank Maidan.

Nana Patole, 56, a four-time legislator from Bhandara, is seen as an aggressive leader from the Vidarbha region, an erstwhile stronghold of the Congress where the party now faces strong competition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Patole has influence in the peasant Kunbi community. In several parts of the region, the community supported Congress in the 2019 assembly elections. Patole began as a Congress leader and shifted to the BJP. He was elected as BJP MP in 2014 from the Bhandara-Gondia constituency but later in December 2017 quit the party by criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and returned to the Congress. He was elected to the state assembly in 2019 and was made Speaker when the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi, comprising Shiv Sena, Natioanlist Congress Party and Congress, formed the government.