Mumbai: The Mumbai Regional Congress Committee’s former president Sanjay Nirupam, who has been sidelined after being removed from the post in March 2019, has been rehabilitated by the high command. Nirupam, who was sent to Bihar to coordinate poll campaign, on Friday was appointed on the parliamentary board of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) headed by newly appointed president Nana Patole. Nirupam will play a crucial role in the finalisation of nominees for the ensuing BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation election slated for 2022 and also polls for other civic and local bodies.
Along with Nirupam, the party high command has also appointed former MP Eknath Gaikwad and former city unit chief Janardan Chandurkar on the MPCC parliamentary board.
Nirupam, who was sulking over his neglect in the functioning of the Mumbai city unit, has been picked up by the high command when the chorus is increasing in the Congress party to go solo in the ensuing BMC elections and not to play a second fiddle to Shiv Sena. This is despite Congress sharing power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Nirupam has been quite vocal on Congress fighting the BMC elections independently in a serious bid for its revival in Mumbai. He was at the forefront to oppose the Congress party’s decision to join hands with Shiv Sena and NCP to form the MVA government in November 2019 to keep BJP at bay. He had warned that power sharing with Shiv Sena would be disastrous for the Congress party. “As for temporary benefits, your thought process is correct but in the long run Congress party will lose its base if we go ahead with this formula. My fear is BJP will be benefited by our mistakes finally. So think about tomorrow not today,’’ he had said.
Nirupam has been quite critical about Congress party not voicing against lack of due share in the state government’s functioning.
Recently, over Shiv Sena’s repeated announcements to rename Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar, Nirupam had remained with the former that the MVA govt has been formed to work and not change the names of cities.
Meanwhile, the party high command has appointed four additional vice presidents in the newly constituted MPCC headed by Patole. They included Nana Gavande, Sachin Naik, Sanjay Rathod and Charulatha Tokas. Already, there are 10 vice presidents, six working presidents and a jumbo 37 parliamentary board.
