Discontent Brewing In Mpcc
Discontent is brewing over the composition of the new Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) with Kesri loyalists demanding its reconstitution in the wake of the crushing defeat suffered by former Chief Minister Sharad Pawar in the party presidential elections.
Senior state Congress leader Prabhakar Kunte who had ironically signed one set of nomination papers for Pawar in the party presidential polls said, a sizeable section of Congressmen in M!harashtra who do not belong to the S B Chavan group have decided to request the AICC president Sitaram Kesri to reconstitute MPCC at the earliest.
He said, one fails to understand how Pawar will accomplish his avowed aim of revitalising and rebuilding the Congress in Maharashtra going by the current composition of MPCC without carrying all partymen with him.
Therefore, he said, partymen were looking up to Kesri to initiate steps to change the composition of the MPCC.
According to sources in the loyalists group of Chavan and former Himachal Pradesh governor Sudhakarrao Naik, it was a mistake to concede 65 per cent of the posts and seats in the state party's executive, parliamentary board and AICC panel to the Pawar camp as the Congress parliamentary party leader has suffered defeat by a huge margin to Kesri.
The MPCC elections were held on June 10 last, two days before the results of the AICC polls were declared, giving a psychological advantage to Pawar, the sources admitted.
The loyalist group has also questioned the choice of Pawar's protege and former Maharashtra minister Ranjit Deshmukh as the new MPCC president since he is the brother of independent MLA Anil Deshmukh who is a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government.
How can Pawar who wants the state Congress to adopt an aggressive approach towards the alliance government, justify such a choice, they wonder.
Ranjit Deshmukh had been declared elected unopposed as the MPCC president after marathon parleys between the Pawar camp and loyalists group whose nominee Prataprao Bhosale, a former MP, ultimately withdrew in the interest of a consensus.
Pawar supporters like Padamsinh Patil, Vijaysinh Mohite Patil and Digvijay Khanvilkar were understood to be disappointed that they were not considered for the post.
Meanwhile, the loyalists group yesterday ridiculed a statement by the Maratha strongman last evening that he would not accept the post of AICC working president, even if it was offered to him.
Commenting on Pawar's statement made in an informal chat to some newspersons at the MPCC headquarters, a spokesperson of the loyalists said where is the question of Pawar being offered the responsibility of AICC working president when several Congressmen are demanding that he step down as the congress floor leader in the Lok Sabha.
If partymen seem to have lost confidence on Pawar as leader of party in Lok Sabha, then how can they accept him as the working president, the spokeserson asked.
On Pawar's remark that UPCC chief Jitendra Prasada would make a good working president, the loyalists spokesperson said Prasada does not need any certificate from anybody.