BMC polls: If we lose, I’ll blame Congress leaders who work against party, says Sanjay Nirupam

The exit polls have predicted that the Congress will be restricted to 27 to 35 seats from the current 52 seats.

The potential dent in the number of the seats in the BMC elections has brought the differences within parties to the fore once more.

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said that key party leaders had acted against him and for them, the battle was against him rather than the ruling parties. (HT)

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said that key party leaders had acted against him and for them, the battle was against him rather than the ruling parties. He also admitted that the infighting will cost the party dearly this election.

The exit polls have predicted that the Congress will be restricted to 27 to 35 seats from the current 52 seats. Reacting to the predictions, Nirupam said that a few party leaders were constantly acting against the interest of the party and their intention was to defeat him as the city unit chief. Nirupam, without naming the leaders, said that they were insisting on fielding weaker candidates against the Shiv Sena in some wards.

Though the city chief of the party did not name anybody, it is being said that Nirupam could be pointing a finger at senior party leader and former union leader Gurudas Kamat, who had openly rebelled against him. Kamat had also announced to withdraw himself from the electoral process, blaming Nirupam for his ‘negative attitude’. Though he later participated in the campaign for a few candidates, Kamat was never a part of the bigger poll picture this time.

“I do not agree with the figures predicted in the exit polls, but in case our party gets a setback, the blame goes to the party leaders who worked against the interest of the party. I restrained myself from talking about the differences to avoid any negative effect on the performance. I have worked hard to win maximum seats for the party. But some leaders had been constantly using the public platform and issuing statements through media to expose me. If they had any grievances, they should have put them up on the right platform within the party or approached the party’s central leadership,” he said.

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