MPCC chief Nana Patole and Pimpri Congress chief Kailas Kadam, among others in Mumbai. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole, who is on a mission to revive the sulking rank and file of Congress in the state, will be visiting the industrial city of Pimpri-Chinchwad to take stock of the situation and spur the morale of the party ahead of the civic elections slated for 2022.
Kailas Kadam, the newly-appointed president of the party in Pimpri-Chinchwad, met Patole in Mumbai on Sunday. “We discussed the party’s current position in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Our state chief sought to know the strength of Congress in the city as well as in PCMC,” said Kadam.
After the discussions, Patole promised that he would visit Pimpri-Chinchwad to tone up the party. “Nana Patole briefed us about the need to ensure the growth of the party and how to go about it. He said he will hold discussions with party leaders and workers, and seek their feedback,” Kadam said.
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“We told our party chief about how the Congress is preparing for the civic elections. I told him that we are confident of winning a large number of seats in this election,” he said.
The Congress had ruled Pimpri-Chinchwad for almost 15 years since the first election in 1986. After its prowess waned, the NCP dominated the PCMC. In the 2017 election, BJP came to power with a clear majority while NCP finished second and Congress drew a blank. In fact, Congress struggled to field candidates in most of the seats.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Congress unit said the senior party leaders were concerned about the deteriorating situation of the party and promised to do their bit for reviving it. “For a start, Patole would be visiting the industrial city and holding meetings and discussions with leaders and workers to get their feedback and suggestions in a bid to revitalise the party,” he said.
During the meeting with Patole, Prithviraj Sathe, national secretary of the Congress and Narendra Bansode, Youth Congress chief in Pimpri-Chinchwad, were also present.
Sathe said Congress is trying to overhaul the party in Pimpri-Chinchwad to regain lost ground. “We might not have the numbers but Congress is still the most popular party in Pimpri-Chinchwad. We have ruled Pimpri-Chinchwad for a long time and have set the tempo of development in the industrial city. It was because of Congress that Pimpri-Chinchwad took off on the development front more than 30 years ago and later NCP carried it forward in association with the Congress,” he said.
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