A united Congress aims to surpass 2007 victory

All India Congress Committee’s party in-charge for Maharashtra H K Patil

Determind to contest the 2022 BMC polls independent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi partners, the Congress has now set a target of bettering its 2007 victory on 75 seats. And to achieve this goal, the All India Congress Committee's party in-charge for Maharashtra, H K Patil, has tried to put an end to the alleged unilateralism in the city unit.

Patil has urged the veteran leaders to shoulder the individual responsibility the party gave them eight months ago, when it set up the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) The development is significant amid observation that the seniors in the party were feeling ignored by the leaders at the helm of the MRCC.

The MRCC's formation was unique as it has, for the first time, decentralised the work, giving specific responsibilities to the Congress veterans in the city. The new committee was announced along with the appointment of MLC Bhai Jagtap as the president, and former MLC Charan Singh Sapra as the working president.

In the reformed set-up, former minister Mohd Arief Naseem Khan is the chairman of the campaign committee, Dr Amarjit Singh Manhas heads the all-important coordination committee, and former minister Suresh Shetty is the chief of manifesto and publication committee. In another first, former minister Chandrakant Handore, a representative of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has been appointed the in-charge of MRCC affairs. Handore reports MRCC activities to MPCC president Nana Patole who supervises the party's overall affairs.

On Wednesday, Patil reviewed MRCC's organisational activities with Patole and leaders of the city unit. They discussed strategies for the BMC polls and reviewed prevention of malnutrition programmes in the city.

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Aiming to repeat history

Sources said the 2007 election result would be considered as a parameter for performing better next year. Fifteen years ago, the Congress had won 75 out of 227 seats under the leadership of the late Gurudas Kamat. However, by 2017, Congress's numbers dropped to 29, while Shiv Sena won the highest number of seats at 97, followed closely by the BJP with 83. NCP has eight seats, Samajwadi Party six, AIMIM two and the MNS just one.

"We want to get the numbers that put the Congress in a position to dictate terms for installing the mayor. Things shouldn't move without us," said a Congress leader. He added that the city unit currently has Dr Manhas, who had worked very closely with Kamat in winning the highest number of seats. "Manhas and other seniors, like Khan, Handore and Shetty, should be used to enhance the party's performance next year."

The Congress leader stressed that fighting the BMC polls solo won't hamper the MVA government. "The alliance will be of importance in the Assembly and Parliamentary elections. Most parties want their grass-root leaders to get an opportunity to contest local polls because they and their supporters keep the party's flag flying across the state," he added.

75
No. of seats Congress won in 2007 civic elections