Maharashtra Congress is set to undergo a leadership change with the current State unit president and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat having been asked to tender his resignation.
Mr. Thorat, who was in Delhi on Monday, was unavailable for comment. According to sources, he has offered to resign. The rejig in Maharashtra is said to be part of the attempt to revive the party and to present a more aggressive face.
The party’s central leadership is reportedly unhappy with the State leaders who were found to be on the defensive about their lacklustre performance in the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, where the other two partners are Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Recently United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi had to write to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray about the common minimum program (CMP) and the budgetary provisions for Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities.
Among the top contenders for the post of State unit president are ministers in the MVA government Nitin Raut (Power), Sunil Kedar (Animal Husbandry), Amit Deshmukh (Medical Education), Yashomati Thakur (Women and Child Welfare), Vijay Vadettiwar (Relief and Rehabilitation), and former Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.
