Mumbai: The Congress party, which shares power with Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, has taken a policy decision to fight upcoming civic and local body elections in the state independently. However, the decision to go solo in the state assembly and Lok Sabha polls has been left to the party high command.
Days after his meeting with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole, who was hogging the headlines for his repeated announcements of going solo, said, ‘’Now we have taken a policy decision to fight civic and local body polls independently. There is no need to repeat it again and again.’’
Patole has been travelling to various districts in order to revive and rejuvenate party organisations ahead of coming polls.
Patole’s statement came days after he was reprimanded by the high command for his ‘’under watch’’ allegation and going solo declaration. Rahul had instead asked Patole to further strengthen the party’s coordination with the state government.
Interestingly, Patole’s announcement is important as Shiv Sena and NCP have been of the view that three parties need to fight upcoming polls together against BJP. However, they have hinted that if Congress decides to contest independently, Shiv Sena and NCP will have an alliance in the ensuing civic and local body elections.
Patole, who was in Pune on Friday, has given a fresh call for leaders and workers to step up their work for going solo in the ensuing civic body elections and thereby become number one. He slammed the BJP, which is ruling the Pune Municipal Corporation, for alleged corruption and irregularities in the functioning of the civic body and in the development of Smart City project in particular.
