Dismissing rumours about his resignation as Maharashtra Congress chief, Nana Patole on Monday clarified that he hasn’t resigned yet. “I have not submitted my resignation. I am going to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge,” Patole said as reports of his resignation surfaced on the internet.
Earlier in the day, media reports claimed that Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole had resigned from his post following the party’s major setback in the state Assembly elections. Congress managed to win only 16 out of the 103 seats it contested.
Patole barely won his Sakoli seat, securing victory by a narrow margin of just 208 votes. Despite trailing for most of the counting process, Patole managed to pull through, with postal ballots tipping the scales in his favour, defeating BJP’s Avinash Brahmankar.
Also Read:State Congress President Nana Patole wins Sakoli seat
On Sunday, Patole addressed the media on the state poll results, where he emphasised that the Mahayuti, which relied heavily on the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme to secure its victory, should immediately fulfill its promise of raising the monthly allowance for women from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100.
The Mahayuti emerged victorious in Maharashtra by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats in the state assembly. The BJP, on the other hand, won 132 seats, Shiv Sena 57, and NCP 41. In contrast, the MVA faced a heavy defeat, with only 46 seats in total — 10 for the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), 16 for Congress, and 20 for Shiv Sena (UBT).
Patole, the Congress leader, described the results as unexpected for both the opposition and the people of Maharashtra. He remarked, “People are discussing how the Mahayuti could manage such a big win. They are confused. We do not want to comment or talk about EVMs, and it is the need of the hour to find out how it all happened, and accordingly, the Congress take necessary steps.”
He added that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) will look into the election’s outcome and evaluate what went wrong. Patole also called for the Mahayuti government to fulfill its promises made to farmers during the elections, including providing 24-hour electricity, Rs 6,000 MSP for soyabean, Rs 9,000 for cotton, and a Rs 1,000 bonus for paddy cultivators.
Nana Patole’s political journey
Patole, a prominent figure from Sukli village in Sakoli and a staunch advocate for farmers and OBC communities in Vidarbha, began his political career with the Congress in 1990. He later joined the BJP in 2008 and became the MLA for Sakoli in 2009. He also served as the MP for Bhandara-Gondia in 2014.
Disillusioned with the BJP’s stance on farmers, Patole resigned from his Lok Sabha seat in 2017 and returned to Congress. In 2019, he reclaimed the Sakoli Assembly seat with a margin of 6,240 votes. However, his attempt to secure a third term in 2024 ended in defeat, marking a significant setback for the Congress in the region.