Maharashtra: Key changes in Congress ranks

Rahul Gandhi (File)

CONGRESS PRESIDENT Rahul Gandhi has made key changes in the party ranks in Maharashtra with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections. In a major rejig, Rahul has replaced presidents of 13 district party committees in the state.

With sources confirming that the rejig proposal had been recommended by state Congress president Ashok Chavan, the move is being seen in the party circles as egging Chavan’s leadership in the state, ahead of the polls.

Six district presidents in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region — Raigad, Ulhasnagar, Mira Bhayander, Panvel, Navi Mumbai — where the party is still grappling with factionalism, have been replaced. On similar lines, the district heads of Nashik, Jalgaon (north Maharashtra), Wardha, Chandrapur (Vidarbha), Jalna, Osmanabad (Marathwada), Kolhapur (rural), and Satara (western Maharashtra) have been replaced.

Former state minister Prakash Awade has been appointed as the district president of Kolhapur (rural), ending a 19-year tenure for former legislator and heavyweight P N Patil.

Meanwhile, through various poll committees — on manifesto, coordination, election and campaign — announced on Wednesday, the Congress high command has sent a message that it wants to “take everyone along”, as it bids to upset the BJP in Maharashtra.

A senior leader said that the party leadership has ensured that all rival camps are adequately represented in these committees. Also, all senior leaders have been assigned responsibilities. While All India Congress Committee’s Maharashtra in charge, Mallikarjun Kharge, will head the party’s coordination committee in the state, Chavan will lead the election committee. Former CMs Prithviraj Chavan and Sushil Kumar Shinde have been made in charges of the manifesto and campaign committees, respectively.

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Former MP Priya Dutt, who had earlier announced her decision not to contest the upcoming poll, has found place in the state-level campaign committee.