Mumbai: As many as 16 senior leaders of the Mumbai Congress have demanded that its city unit chief Varsha Gaikwad be replaced to strengthen the organization ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections scheduled for October this year.
They feel that Gaikwad, who recently won the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat, will not have time to work at the organizational level and have opposed his style of functioning, sources said on Monday.
These leaders, in a letter dated June 16, have sought time from the Congress leadership to discuss rejuvenation of the party in Mumbai ahead of the delayed assembly elections and Mumbai civic polls.
The signatories of the letter include Rajya Sabha MP and Congress Working Committee member Chandrakant Handore, former city party chiefs Janardhan Chandurkar and Bhai Jagtap, senior leaders Naseem Khan, Suresh Shetty, Madhu Chavan, Charansingh Sapra, Zakir Ahmed and Maharashtra Congress treasurer Amarjit Manhas.
Most of these leaders arrived in Delhi to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders KC Venugopal and Rahul Gandhi to discuss how to strengthen the party in the city, sources said.
A meeting related to Maharashtra is scheduled for tomorrow.
"Recently, in a protest in connection with the UGC-NET exam chaos, Gaikwad did not summon all the party leaders to the city unit office. Therefore, they had to organize a separate protest in the suburbs "said a source.
"She has been the city unit chief for 13 months now, but she has not spearheaded any substantial activity to galvanize the party cadres," the source further stated.
Congress candidate from Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat Bhushan Patil also claimed that he received no help from the city party unit.
"Patil has also complained that he did not get a lead in the Malad assembly segment (in the Lok Sabha poll) held by Congress MLA Aslam Sheikh," the source said.
In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Congress won only 4 of the 36 seats in Mumbai.
During the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won 1 of the 2 seats it contested in the city.
They feel that Gaikwad, who recently won the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat, will not have time to work at the organizational level and have opposed his style of functioning, sources said on Monday.
These leaders, in a letter dated June 16, have sought time from the Congress leadership to discuss rejuvenation of the party in Mumbai ahead of the delayed assembly elections and Mumbai civic polls.
The signatories of the letter include Rajya Sabha MP and Congress Working Committee member Chandrakant Handore, former city party chiefs Janardhan Chandurkar and Bhai Jagtap, senior leaders Naseem Khan, Suresh Shetty, Madhu Chavan, Charansingh Sapra, Zakir Ahmed and Maharashtra Congress treasurer Amarjit Manhas.
Most of these leaders arrived in Delhi to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders KC Venugopal and Rahul Gandhi to discuss how to strengthen the party in the city, sources said.
A meeting related to Maharashtra is scheduled for tomorrow.
"Recently, in a protest in connection with the UGC-NET exam chaos, Gaikwad did not summon all the party leaders to the city unit office. Therefore, they had to organize a separate protest in the suburbs "said a source.
"She has been the city unit chief for 13 months now, but she has not spearheaded any substantial activity to galvanize the party cadres," the source further stated.
Congress candidate from Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat Bhushan Patil also claimed that he received no help from the city party unit.
"Patil has also complained that he did not get a lead in the Malad assembly segment (in the Lok Sabha poll) held by Congress MLA Aslam Sheikh," the source said.
In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Congress won only 4 of the 36 seats in Mumbai.
During the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won 1 of the 2 seats it contested in the city.
