Infighting, unrest plagues Mumbai Congress ahead of Maharashtra elections, high command steps in

Mumbai Pradesh Congress Committee President Varsha Gaikwad (PTI)

The morale of the Congress party is high in Maharashtra following the recent Lok Sabha elections. With 13 seats won, the Congress has emerged as the largest party in the state. Buoyed by this success, the party is prepared to do a hard bargaining with its allies in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) during the upcoming seat-sharing process for the Maharashtra elections. However, before diving into the elections, the party needs to address internal issues, particularly within its Mumbai unit, which is plagued by infighting and unrest against the unit chief, Varsha Gaikwad.

Varsha Gaikwad was recently elected as the Member of Parliament for the North Central Mumbai Lok Sabha seat, defeating BJP candidate Ujjwal Nikam by a margin of approximately 16,000 votes.

This seat had been under BJP control for the last ten years, with Poonam Mahajan representing the constituency in 2014 and 2019. During seat-sharing talks with the MVA, Gaikwad sought the South Central Mumbai seat as her locality, Dharavi, falls under it.

However, the Shiv Sena (UBT) refused to relinquish the seat, citing that their headquarters, Shiv Sena Bhavan, is within the constituency limits. Despite her commendable victory in a non-preferred seat, Gaikwad’s performance as the Mumbai Congress chief has been criticized.

Recently, a delegation of senior Mumbai Congress leaders, including Chandrakant Handore, Charansingh Sapra, and Janardan Chandurkar, met with Mallikarjun Kharge, the national president of the party.

They complained about Gaikwad’s alleged ill-behavior and poor leadership, noting that many party corporators had left during her tenure.

Some leaders are dissatisfied with her autocratic style and have subtly demanded her removal.

In response, Kharge has tasked Ramesh Chennithala, the AICC in-charge of Maharashtra Congress, to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, Gaikwad’s supporters have also rushed to Delhi to present her side of the story to Kharge.

Insiders believe it is unlikely that Gaikwad will be replaced as the city Congress chief.

They argue that she represents the Dalit community and that Dalit and Muslim voters were crucial in the Congress’s recent revival. Therefore, it would not be prudent to replace her.

The high command is expected to seek a middle ground to appease the dissenters. Gaikwad has consistently won the Dharavi assembly seat four times since 2004 and has also served as a minister in the MVA government.

Another point of contention within the party is the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) elections.

Based on its numerical strength in the Vidhan Sabha, the Congress is expected to secure one seat. However, there are multiple contenders for this seat. Some argue it should go to a minority candidate, while others demand it be given to a north Indian candidate.