Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has stepped down after the party’s disastrous performance in the Assembly elections. The Congress won only 16 out of the 103 seats it contested, its worst-ever result in the state.
Patole himself barely held on to his Sakoli seat, winning by just 208 votes. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the alliance of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar), failed miserably, securing less than 50 seats in total. Meanwhile, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a massive victory, winning 232 seats.
Patole became state Congress president in 2021 and had earlier led the party to success in the Lok Sabha elections, winning 13 out of 17 seats it contested. However, his strong push for more seats during talks with allies caused tensions, especially with Shiv Sena (UBT).
Just before the results, Patole’s claim that Congress would lead the next MVA government upset Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who rejected the idea.
After the defeat, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh called the results “unexpected and shocking,” blaming an uneven playing field. “We will study the reasons for this outcome,” he said.
The Congress’ decline from 44 seats in the last election to just 16 now marks a serious setback for the party in Maharashtra, leading to calls for a complete overhaul.