Mumbai: After last week’s Chintan Shivir, organised in Udaipur and an upcoming social media camp scheduled on May 28-29 in Nagpur, the Congress is set to hold meetings of its extended state executive for Maharashtra and Mumbai next week to lay down a strategy on contesting the forthcoming local body polls across the state, due later this year and to discuss other pressing issues. The grand old party will deliberate on whether it should battle the polls alone or as part of a coalition with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an issue on which differences of opinion have emerged among leaders, especially in cities like Mumbai.
The extended state executive for Maharashtra, which includes the 271 office-bearers of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), ministers, legislators, members of parliament (MPs), former legislators, and MPs, will be held on Monday in ‘Tilak Bhawan’ the state headquarters at Dadar. This will be followed by a similar meeting for Mumbai the next day.
HK Patil, secretary, All India Congress Committee (AICC), and Maharashtra Congress in-charge said that the meetings would discuss a gamut of issues like the implementation of the resolutions approved at the Udaipur meet. This includes granting 50% representation to those below the age of 50 and a cap of five years on holding positions in the party apparatus.
Patil said that a new state executive would be formed later this year after incorporating these changes. “We will also discuss the course of action for the forthcoming local body elections,” said Patil. While some Congress leaders want to fight with the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as part of the larger MVA, others want to go it alone to galvanise the party rank-and-file at the grassroots and fight off challengers like the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
“The agenda for these meetings will include holding workshops for implementation of the chintan shivir declaration, formation of political affairs committees, filling up of vacant positions… committees will also be set up at the district level for the 75-km long ‘Azadi Gaurav Padayatra’ to be organised in all districts to culminate at the district headquarters on 15 August,” said Patil.