Nana Patole is new state Congress chief

Nana Patole replaced state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, who will continue to be the leader of the Congress legislative party. File pic

A day after he quit as the Assembly Speaker, Nana Patole, was appointed as the president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Friday. Maintaining regional and social balance in the organisation, the Congress high command also appointed six working presidents and constituted a board for parliamentary affairs, screening, strategy and coordination ahead of the upcoming local body elections, including Mumbai civic polls early next year.

"I will not breach the trust that my party high command has put in me. Making the Congress the number one party in Maharashtra will be my priority. Asking me to quit as the speaker was my party's internal decision and it should not worry other parties. I believe that the MVA government will last a full five year term," said Patole.

The party's national general secretary, K C Venugopal, announced the new office-bearers that included 10 vice-presidents. A legislator from Sakoli in Bhandara district, Patole, 57, replaced revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, who will continue to be the leader of Congress legislative party which is in alliance with the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He is seen as an aggressive leader and represents the other backward classes and had been leading the party's farmers' (kisan) national cell. With the Congress being pushed to the corner, not only in the electoral battles but also in a tripartite arrangement, the party seems to have thought of making Patole in-charge. He is expected to have a face-off with the Bharatiya Janata Party and also find a way to tide over difficulties that the alliance has been causing to the Congress.

Former ministers Shivajirao Moghe, Basavraj Patil, Mohammad Arif Naseem Khan and Chandrakant Handore, Kunal Patil and Pranati Shinde will be new working presidents. Shishir Chaudhari, Ramesh Bagwe, Husain Dalwai, Mohan Joshi, Ranjit Kamble, Kailash Gorantyal, Bhai Nagrale, Sharad Aher, MM Shaikh and Manik Jagtap will be vice-presidents.

The 37 parliamentary board members include Patole, Thorat, Sharad Ranpise, Ashok Chavan, Sushilkumar Shinde, Prithviraj Chavan, Mukul Wasnik, Milind Deora, Avinash Pande, Vilas Muttemwar, Manikrao Thakare, Anant Gadgil and Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap.

However, the party did not appoint new general secretaries and secretaries giving the impression that the incumbents might be allowed to hold office till further notice.

Will Mumbai get Speaker's post?
With Mumbai senior MLA Amin Patel being seen as one of the hot contenders for the Assembly speaker's post, matters have become more interesting. Patel, one of the Congress's four legislators from Mumbai, missed a cabinet berth in 2019 when the MVA formed the government. Among others being considered are ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan, minister KC Padvi and MLA Sangram Thopte.

If Patel gets appointed, the city Congress will get one more top position, in addition to the two cabinet ministers Varsha Gaikwad and Aslam Shaikh. The party decision of changing the speaker hasn't gone down well with the MVA partners, especially the NCP, said a Congress leader. The NCP is upset because by asking Patole to quit, the Congress has necessitated the process of the Speaker's election for which the MVA will have to keep its flock together for a floor test, if need be.