Congress on Sunday picked its CLP Leader of Maharashtra Balasaheb Thorat as new Maharashtra President and will be assisted by five new working President months before the Maharashtra State Polls. Thorat will be replacing the interim and incumbent State chief Ashok Chavan.
Among the working President appointment, the grand old party picked Former minister Nitin Raut from Nagpur, Yashomati Thakur from Amravati, Vishwajeet Kadam from Sangli, Baswaraj Patil from Latur and Muzaffar Hussain from Thane as the five working presidents.
Sources familiar with the development claimed that the move to appoint 5 working presidents is done in a bid to make the party united who is currently facing many factions.
The state Congress president post fell vacant after senior party leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan quit earlier this month taking responsibility of the party’s poor show.
Being the new President of Maharashtra State Unit, Thorat has an uphill task of reviving the party and draft a strategy for Assembly Polls. As quoted by TOI, Thorat said, ‘We are not demoralized. I am sure, we will revive the organization at all levels and dislodge the BJP-Shiv Sena government in the upcoming elections
Balasaheb Thorat’s appointment letter has been issued by the AICC president, however, it has been signed by general secretary KC Venugopal. The AICC president post fell vacant earlier this month after Rahul Gandhi stepped down taking responsibility of the poll disaster.
Last month, Balasaheb Thorat was appointed as Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader of Maharashtra assembly. He, had in the past, represented Agriculture and Revenue portfolios during the UPA-led government. Thorat, who was elected as an MLA from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district in 2009, is credited for his contribution in the milk cooperative movement.
Congress in the state is making efforts to revive itself after facing a humiliating defeat in the recently held national polls. In the state that sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha Polls, NCP-Congress could only bag 5 Lok Sabha Seats with NCP winning 4 seats while one seat won by the Indian National Congress.
Shiv Sena-BJP combine swept the state in the national polls bagging 41 seats out the 48 seats. Bharatiya Janata Party won 23 seats out of 25 contested while its partner Shiv Sena registered a victory on 18 out of 23 contested.
Eyeing to make a comeback in the state, Congress is also making efforts to reach out to small allies like Prakash Ambedkar‘s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. While Sonia Gandhi recent meet with MNS Chief Raj Thackeray triggered a buzz of a possible alliance of two parties.
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