Give up on Pros Kyun in Congress? Deora, Siddiqui, and Chavan Exit; Maha Question for State Chief Nana Patole

Ashok Chavan joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, one day after quitting the Congress, in the presence of Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the state president of the party.

The departure of Chavan is a major setback for the Congress. Milind Deora and Baba Siddique both defected from the grand old party prior to Chavan, joining the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), respectively. While Chavan remained silent, the other leaders publicly voiced their dissatisfaction with the party leadership before to departing, casting doubt on the effectiveness of state president Nana Patole.

Patole retorted, saying, “The party gave everything to the leaders who left the Congress.” However, they have turned their backs and joined the BJP and other parties now that the time has come to battle. It is clear that some of the departing individuals were afraid of government authorities like the government Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). A few have left for their own gain. For such politicians, giving up to the BJP and its supporters is a face-saver rather than engaging in combat.”

A BAND OF “BLUNDERS”
Nana Patole has been the target of criticism ever since he became the Maharashtra Congress chairman. Without notifying Uddhav Thackeray, the Chief Minister at the time, Patole resigned as Speaker. This action was seen as a “blunder” since it contributed to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) scandal in the state.

Satyajeet Tambe, the former president of the Youth Congress, left next. He was hoping for a ticket for the Nashik Graduate seat, but his father, Dr. Sudhir Tambe, a prominent Congress official, received the ticket from the party. Satyajeet later stood as an independent and was disciplined for defying the party’s directive. He said, “Deeply Pains Me to See Shambolic State of Congress,” in a recent post on “X.” It is sad and unsettling to see the Congress party in Maharashtra in such a pathetic shape. It hurts that the party that played a major role in the fight for independence and made enormous sacrifices to influence the course of the nation is in such disarray. The condition of the party where I spent 22 years of my life giving my all—mind, body, and soul—shatters me to no end. In my capacity as president of the Maharashtra Youth Congress, I traveled the whole state and recruited several talented young people to the Congress. I could say a lot, but I’d prefer not to.”

Imran Pratapgarhi, a youthful politician from Uttar Pradesh who is said to be close to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, was nominated by the Congress for the state’s previous Rajya Sabha term. Deora expressed interest in running in the Rajya Sabha election as well, but his candidacy for the 2019 Lok Sabha election—his second general election—was given preference over his consideration for the seat.

The party did not assign Siddique any significant responsibilities after he lost the 2014 election. Despite his expertise, he was never appointed head of the Mumbai Congress since he was a Muslim politician. His son received a ticket from the Bandra East constituency in 2019. Siddique was a Congress loyalist, but he was disregarded, thus he chose to sever his 48-year association with the party. Other Congress heavyweights are reportedly eager to join the BJP as well, although their admittance will take place before to the Lok Sabha elections, if reports about them are to be believed.

The BJP has now welcomed Chavan, who it painted as the antagonist of the “Adarsh” scandal, and it may even award him a Rajya Sabha seat. Chavan said that his decision to join the BJP was motivated by his desire to explore other political avenues rather than a fear of the “Adarsh” fraud accusations. Additionally, he expressed to reporters his admiration for Prime Minister Modi’s management style.

The high command is determined to maintain Patole in his position despite mounting pressure to dismiss him. Senior Congressman Balasaheb Thorat complained in writing to the party’s top leadership a few months ago about Patole’s working style and how hard it was to deal with him.

It is evident that neither the state nor the federal leadership of the Congress is paying much attention to the requests and demands of local leaders, nor has it been able to persuade resentful and sulky politicians to create a coalition that would put up a fierce struggle against the BJP.