Congress’s Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil officially resigned from the post on Thursday, setting off speculation about his imminent departure from the party. The resignation came a day ahead of Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Sangamner in Ahmednagar district on Friday. It has been accepted by Mr. Gandhi.The party’s Ahmednagar district president Karan Sasane also quit his post on Thursday, allegedly on the instructions of the disgruntled Mr. Vikhe-Patil. Commenting on this, Mr. Chavan said the party’s Aurangabad unit had been dissolved and that a new district president would soon be appointed, along with fresh members who would constitute the new district Congress committee.
Mr. Sasane’s resignation is seen as a direct fallout of the bitter and long-standing rivalry between Mr. Vikhe-Patil and senior Congressman Balasaheb Thorat, whose stronghold is Sangamner, where Mr. Gandhi is holding his rally.
Incidentally, Mr. Sasane, son of late MLA of Shrirampur Jayant Sasane, was appointed the party’s Ahmednagar district president less than three weeks ago at the insistence of Mr. Thorat.
“The timing of my resignation, ahead of Mr. Gandhi’s visit, has no bearing on this matter… In reality, there was tremendous discontent against Bhausaheb Kamble [Congress candidate for Shirdi] as during campaigning, Mr. Kamble made some disgraceful remarks against my late father,” said Mr. Sasane. He said though he respected Mr. Gandhi, he would not be present during the rally on Friday.
“The Congress in Maharashtra has unfortunately transformed into a private limited company…there is a great impatience among some leaders in the party. They are eager to sideline me to step into my boots,” Mr. Vikhe-Patil had said, in a thinly veiled reference to Mr. Thorat.