Congress rejects claims of being finished

As it prepared to go it alone in the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls and contest the local body polls elsewhere in alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) “wherever possible and necessary”, the Opposition Congress on Monday claimed that in the recent local body polls that it had won 41 municipal presidents and 1,006 councillors in the recent Municipal Council–Nagar Panchayat elections.

Rubbishing the claims made by his party’s critics that “the Congress is finished”, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “The latest poll results once again show that trust is greater than money and ideas are more important than power. The victory in the municipal elections will provide fresh energy for the forthcoming municipal corporation and Zilla Parishad elections.”

“The Congress’s fight to save Maharashtra from the massively corrupt BJP-led Mahayuti will continue unabated,” Sakpal said.

“The latest poll results have given a fitting reply to those who claim that the Congress is finished. The people have rejected the notion that social harmony can be disrupted in the name of caste and religion for political gain, or that all elections can be won purely through money power. Our electoral success reaffirms that the Congress ideology alone can safeguard the nation,” the MPCC chief said.

Alleging that the ruling BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had secured their victories “through excessive use of money” and “with the support of the administration and the Election Commission,” the Congress still lives in the hearts of the people and will continue to do so. This is a battle of ideas, and the Congress has not strayed even an inch from its ideology,” the State Congress chief said.

“The voters have shown that public trust matters more than money, and ideology matters more than power,” Sapkal said, as he congratulated the victorious candidates and party workers who stood by the party in the polls and thanked the people of Maharashtra, ‘who have shown faith in the Congress.’

Sakpal’s statement came two days after the Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, said that his party would go the BMC polls on its strength and elsewhere contest the local body polls in alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) “wherever possible and necessary.”

“In Mumbai, we will go it alone as this is a local poll and workers have their aspirations,” Chennithala had said.

Seeking to enthuse the party cadres across the state in the face of the party’s not-so-impressive performance in the recent Municipal Council–Nagar Panchayat polls, Sakpal said, “In the elections to 288 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats across the state, the Congress party fought on the strength of its ideology despite extremely adverse circumstances. With no financial backing and relying solely on a firm belief in democratic values, the party took on the ruling dispensation’s money power.”

“On the strength of the hard work put in by Congress workers, voters elected 41 Congress municipal presidents and 1,006 councillors across the state. These results once again show that trust is greater than money and ideas are more important than power,” the MPCC chief claimed. 

Elaborating on the outcome in the recent Municipal Council–Nagar Panchayat elections, Sakpal said, “In the Nagpur division, Congress won 14 municipal presidents and 340 councillors; in the Amravati division, 9 municipal presidents and 236 councillors; in Marathwada, 5 municipal presidents and 156 councillors; and in western Maharashtra, 3 municipal presidents and 47 councillors.

“In northern Maharashtra, the Congress won 2 municipal presidents and 47 councillors and in the Konkan division, 1 municipal president and 26 councillors. In addition, 7 municipal presidents and 154 councillors from Congress-supported local alliances were also elected,” Sapkal said.

The latest poll results have given a fitting reply to those who claim that the Congress is finished. The people have rejected the notion that social harmony can be disrupted in the name of caste and religion for political gain, or that all elections can be won purely through money power

— Harshwardhan Sapkal, MPCC president