Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole refuted rumors on Monday about stepping down from his position after the party’s disappointing results in the assembly elections.
Clarifying the situation, Patole stated, “I am going to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. I have not submitted my resignation,” addressing the speculation that arose after multiple reports claimed he had stepped down.
He further alleged that the assembly elections were rigged, claiming the results were unexpected. Patole stated that he has been receiving calls from people across the state, asserting that their votes did not contribute to forming this government.
“There has been a rig in the elections… All of our leaders were in the elections field. Our party workers were also there with all their power. Everyone was hopeful that the election results would be in the favour of Maha Vikas Aghadi. For eg, our candidate for Nanded Lok Sabha bye-election won but all our Vidhan Sabha candidates lost. How can there be so much of a difference?…
The people on social media are also saying that their votes have not formed this government. This is our biggest concern. That is why I came to meet our National President Mallikarjun Kharge… We are also worried because we are getting phone calls from all over the state. People are saying that this is wrong and it is not good for a democracy…” he said as quoted by ANI.
Several media reports suggested that Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole had offered to resign as state president, taking moral responsibility for the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) crushing defeat in the recent Assembly elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, comprising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s NCP, achieved a landslide victory, winning 230 out of 288 assembly seats. In contrast, the MVA alliance suffered a significant setback, securing only 46 seats.
The Congress recorded its worst-ever performance in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, with its seat count falling drastically from 44 in the previous election to just 16 out of the 103 constituencies it contested this time. Nana Patole, who ran from the Sakoli seat, managed to retain his position but with a razor-thin margin of only 208 votes—the narrowest victory of his political career.
Congress’s disappointing performance in Maharashtra Assembly polls starkly contrasts with the Lok Sabha Elections, where the grand old party received an overwhelming response in the state. The party had won 13 out of 17 seats it contested. Scoring the highest among all MVA allies in the parliamentary polls, the Congress under Patole had bargained hard during seat-sharing talks ahead of the Assembly election.