Congress appoints coordinators for 2026 Maharashtra Legislative Council polls

The Maharashtra Congress on Tuesday appointed senior leaders as coordinators for the upcoming elections to the graduatesrsquo and teachersrsquo constituencies of the state legislative council scheduled for 2026 news agency PTI reportedFormer minister and Congress Working Committee CWC member Balasaheb Thorat has been named as the coordinator for the Pune graduates and teachersrsquo constituenciesFor the Nagpur Graduates Constituency the party has named former minister and current legislative council group leader Satej Patil as the coordinator PTI reportedFormer minister and senior state unit vicepresident Sunil Deshmukh has been named coordinator for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Graduates Constituency while former legislator and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committees MPCCs senior vicepresident MM Shaikh will be the coordinator for the Amravati Teachers Constituency the party further saidEknath Shinde holds key meeting with Shiv Sena leaders ahead of BMC pollsWith BMC polls slated to be held before January 2026 political parties have begun charting strategies and game plans to conquer the Mumbai civic body In view of strengthening Shiv Senarsquos hold in BMC elections Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Eknath Shinde on September 28 said that preparations for the upcoming municipal elections have been intensified He further stated that party branch heads will play a pivotal role in the upcoming pollsShinde while addressing a meeting of all branch heads and office bearers in Mumbai underscored that the grassroots leadership of the party forms its backbone and will be central in ensuring victoryldquoThe announcement of municipal polls is expected soon With this in mind I convened a meeting with branch heads today They are the partyrsquos strength and the ones who address peoplersquos daytoday problems in their respective areas Now all our branch heads are fully active and once the election is declared they will enter the field with complete preparationrdquo the deputy CM saidHe added that the Shiv Sena has a legacy of electoral battles across levels Shiv Sena has conquered the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha to municipal corporation elections in the past and the cadre is wellversed in ground mobilisation he statedldquoThe resolve in the minds of our branch heads is clear that the flag of Shiv Sena must fly atop the municipal corporations especially the BMC and the next mayor will certainly belong to the Mahayuti grand alliancerdquo Shinde emphasisedThe meeting also focused on identifying and addressing local issues that citizens face daily reinforcing the message that effective problemsolving at the grassroots level remains the partyrsquos hallmark According to Shinde this direct connection between citizens and branch heads would be the key to securing public trust in the electionsMumbai civic body polls are expected to be a litmus test for Shindersquos Shiv Sena faction which now leads the state government in alliance with the BJP and other Mahayuti partners This election will also seek to retain its influence over Mumbairsquos civic governanceWith PTI inputs