Days after Congress party’s rout in the five assembly elections, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress President Nana Patole on Monday predicted that the party will emerge as the single-largest party in 2024 assembly elections in Maharashtra and the party's Chief Minister will head the government. Incidentally, Congress with 42 legislators is a junior partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government with other allies Shiv Sena and NCP. Patole’s statement has sparked a political debate especially when the MVA and BJP are trading charges against each other on corruption while BJP is issuing new deadlines for the collapse of the state government.
Patole’s statement is important as he has been an ardent advocate of Congress going solo in the upcoming elections though the final decision has been left to the high command. In the recently held elections to the 106 nagar panchayats, Congress came third after BJP and NCP in winning seats.
‘’Maharashtra’s next Chief Minister will be from the Congress party. The party will get the highest number of seats in the 2024 assembly elections and the next Chief Minister will be from the Congress,’’ said Patole.
Patole’s statement came a day after the Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, who is Revenue Minister, returned from Delhi after his meeting with the party high command about the party’s candidate for the assembly Speaker’s elections and also about the present state of the Congress organisation in Maharashtra.
Even though, Patole at the state level and Mumbai unit chief Bhai Jagtap, who has been making a strong case for Congress fighting the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections independently, there are few takers as most of the legislators and district leaders are insisting that it won’t be possible without strengthening the party organisation in all districts.
Meanwhile, Patole has alleged that opposition BJP was playing the politics of blackmailing by abusing the power at the Centre. ‘’The Modi government's culture of vengeance is visible as central probe agencies including ED and CBI have been deployed to discredit all the opposition parties, including the Congress. If the opposition does not surrender, they will be interrogated,’’ he claimed.
Patole charged BJP of hatching a conspiracy to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state but said that the government will complete its five-year term. He said as the government is in the firm saddle and that the BJP has started making false allegations which the general public knows fully well.
