Congress has decided that it will neither disturb the government nor the party leadership in Maharashtra as it is running out of time to bring out changes on the eve of the assembly polls.

 

Party president Sonia Gandhi met chief minister PrithvirajChavan in Delhi early this week and conveyed to him that the high command has decided not to replace him and asked him to lead the party in the state legislative assembly polls likely to be scheduled on October 13 and October 16. The meeting has put to rest speculations that Chavan and Thakre would be shown the door on the eve of the assembly 

 

Based on a report prepared by senior party leaders A K Anthony and Ahmed Patel, Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi decided against the changing Chavan and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief ManikraoThakre.

 

There had been strong demands made by detractors in the Congress to have a change in guard in the government and Thakre too had come under scathing attack from party men who held him responsible for the party’s debacle in the parliamentary polls. Some of Thakre’s rivals in the Congress had asked that his head should roll for the party’s poor show in the election.

 

However, the high command did not easily give in to mounting pressure from the state party leaders who wanted also wanted the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee president JanardanChandurkar to step down in the backdrop of Bharatiya Janata Party trouncing the Congress in the polls.

 

In the third week of June, Chavan along with Thakre and Chandurkar met the Congress high command in Delhi. The trio had a daylong parleys were centered round taking control of the political situation post-parliamentary polls debacle in Maharashtra, including Mumbai and envisaging the party’s strategy to retain power in the forthcoming state assembly polls which is likely to be scheduled in October. The meeting happened in the midst of strong rumours making their rounds that either Chavan or Thakre were to be replaced and hence the Congress senior leaders A K Anthony and Ahmed Patel had summoned them to Delhi.

 

However, it was learnt from reliable sources in the Congress that Chavan, Thakre and Chandurkar jointly met Anthony and Patel, to discuss the parliamentary poll debacle and chalk out the strategy for the meeting with Nationalist Congress Party chief SharadPawar the following day.

 

It is believed that there was no discussion on the issue of change of leadership either in the party or the state government and the discussion revolved around devising a strategy to checkmate Pawar’s arm-twisting tactics, in anticipation that Pawar would try to dominate over the Congress in the pre-poll alliance meeting.

Subsequently, the following as anticipated by the Congress leadership, at the closed door between Pawar and Congress leaders Patel and Anthony, Pawar made a strong demand for replacing Chavan and even threatened to go to the polls alone if Chavan is not replaced immediately.

 

The two Congress leaders-Anthony and Patel only assured Pawar that they would convey his demand to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and were in no position to give him an assurance that Chavan would be shown the door on the eve of the state legislative elections which is around four months away.

 

Pawar’s demand for Chavan’s removal was based on the state NCP leadership being up in arms against Chavan unduly delaying on clearing development projects in the state and sidelining the NCP in the running of the government.

 

“However, the party leadership under Sonia’s stewardship felt that there was no need to replace either Chavan or Thakareon the eve of the assembly.The party leadership was not keen on moving out either Chavan or Thakre, as it could prove to be suicidal on the eve of the assembly polls since there is hardly much time on hand to give a facelift to either the government or party before the polls. The high command was againstoverhauling either the leadership in the state party unit or government and did not want to rock its ship as there is very little time left for carrying out fire-fighting measures post-parliamentary polls’ dismal show,” claimed a senior Congress leader in Mumbai.