In a major political turmoil, 16 senior leaders of the Congress party's Mumbai unit have demanded that Varsha Gaikwad be replaced as the city unit chief. In a letter dated June 16, they stated this change is necessary to strengthen the party's organisation before the upcoming assembly polls in October.
The leaders believe Gaikwad, who won the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat in the recent Lok Sabha elections, does not have enough time to focus on organisational work.
They also disagree with her methods of operation. According to a source, Gaikwad did not summon all party workers to a recent protest against the chaos surrounding the UGC-NET exam.
Sources suggest that Gaikwad has not led any significant activity to energise the party cadre in the 13 months she has been the city unit head.
As per sources, Bhushan Patil, the party's candidate for Lok Sabha in Mumbai North, did not receive any assistance from the city unit. He struggled to make a lead in the Malad assembly segment, which was won by Congress MLA Aslam Sheikh.
The letter was signed by several senior leaders, including Chandrakant Handore of the Congress Working Committee and Rajya Sabha, Naseem Khan, Suresh Shetty, Madhu Chavan, Charansingh Sapra, Zakir Ahmed, Amarjit Manhas, Janardhan Chandurkar, and Bhai Jagtap.
Most of these leaders are in Delhi to discuss strategies with senior leader Rahul Gandhi, general secretary KC Venugopal, and president Mallikarjun Kharge. They have asked for more time from the central leadership to discuss reviving the party in Mumbai before the assembly and municipal elections.
In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, Congress won only 4 out of 36 seats in Mumbai. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party contested two seats in the city and won one.
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