Race Begins Now”: Maharashtra Congress Aims for Assembly Polls After Lok Sabha Victory

The winning MPs of the Congress were honored at an event in Maharashtra, where they were urged to continue raising important questions in Parliament and addressing the concerns of the people by Nana Patole, the Maharashtra Congress chief. He emphasized the upcoming zila parishad, gram panchayat, and state assembly elections and urged the newly elected MPs to work for those who helped them gain power. The event was attended by Ramesh Chennithala, the Congress general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, as well as senior party leaders including Prithviraj Chavan, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Vijay Wadettiwar, Mukul Wasnik and Rajani Patil. Vishal Patil, a Congress rebel who won the Sangli Lok Sabha seat as an Independent and has extended his support to the party, also participated in the event.

Mr. Chennithala emphasized that the party will strongly contest the upcoming Assembly polls, indicating that the candidate selection process will involve consultation at the district level. Mr. Patole highlighted the challenges facing the state, including severe drought, water tank mafia, unemployment, and farmers’ suicides. The Congress secured 13 out of 17 seats in the general elections, while the Shiv Sena and the NCP won nine out of 21 and eight out of 10 seats respectively. Mr. Patole expressed that if the Congress had been allocated more seats, it would have been more challenging for Narendra Modi to form the government in Delhi.

Prithviraj Chavan believed that the debate on which party is the strongest in the state should be resolved after the Lok Sabha polls. Mr. Chennithala stated that the people of Maharashtra support the Congress and want the party to move forward.