After securing a significant number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Party has begun preparations to achieve further success in the upcoming State Assembly elections. Following the announcement of a team to negotiate with alliance partners, the Congress State Incharge held a meeting with the teams at Hotel Leela in Mumbai on Sunday.
During the meeting, it was decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Mumbai on August 20. A major program will be organized in Mumbai, with Rahul Gandhi, Party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, and Uddhav Thackeray expected to attend, as informed by Chennithala to the press.
Ramesh Chennithala informed the press that no discussions about seat sharing took place during this meeting. "Discussions on seat sharing will be held at the August 7 meeting. We will determine who will contest the elections and on how many seats, which has not yet been decided. MVA is capable of winning. We are all working to bring the MVA government to Maharashtra. We received a positive response in the Lok Sabha elections and expect the same in the upcoming State Assembly elections," said Chennithala.
Additionally, Congress State President Nana Patole stated, "MVA is working to uphold the pride of Maharashtra. The Mahabhrashta Yuti has sold it out, and the current government is benefiting Gujarat. Maharashtra is being looted, and the stolen goods are being taken to Surat. The government is selling state land and properties. In this situation, saving Maharashtra is MVA's mission. Patole announced that Congress will prepare a chargesheet against the Mahabhrashta Yuti and distribute it to the public. Campaigning for the State Assembly election will begin on Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary."
On July 26, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal issued a list of ten members of the Maharashtra Congress party. The state-level negotiation team will include State President Nana Patole, Former CM Prithviraj Chavan, Senior Leader Balasaheb Thorat, Opposition Leader in the State Assembly Vijay Vadettiwar, Former Cabinet Minister Nitin Raut, Arif Naseem Khan, and Satej Patil. The Mumbai-level negotiation team will comprise Varsha Gaikwad, Bhai Jagtap, and Aslam Shaikh.
With elections expected to be held in the next two to three months, the Congress party has constituted its negotiation teams to avoid any further inconvenience.
Arif Naseem Khan, who was disappointed by the lack of Muslim candidates in the recent Lok Sabha elections and had initially recused himself from the list of Congress star campaigners, has now been included in the negotiation team to maintain the trust of the minority community.
Furthermore, MP Varsha Gaikwad, Bhai Jagtap, and Aslam Shaikh have been included to ensure balanced negotiations concerning Mumbai. There are 36 state assembly seats in Mumbai.
