Mumbai: After the split in the Nationalist Congress Party due to the rebellion by senior party leader Ajit Pawar, a group of senior Congress leaders from Maharashtra held a meeting with the party top brass in New Delhi to discuss the post-NCP split situation and its ramifications on the Congress, sources said. It is learnt that the group of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee leaders met All India Congress Commitee President Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders of the party top brass and hold discussions with them.
Significantly, today's meeting came amid persistent demand by a section of Maharashtra PCC leaders to remove Nana Patole as the PCC President in the interest of the party. The voices for Patole's removal from the top post have become shriller following rebellion by NCP leader Ajit Pawar and his split from the party headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar.
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Ajit Pawar along with many other rebel NCP leaders have joined the Eknath Shinde led coalition government in Maharashtra. Today's meeting of Maharashtra PCC leaders with the AICC top brass also comes amid speculations over the BJP's attempt at poaching disgruntled Congress MLAs. It is believed that the PCC leaders raised the issue with the AICC leadership to nip a potential rebellion in the Maharashtra on the lines of NCP split, in the bud.
Following the splits in the Siv Sena and the NCP, Congress, which has 45 MLAs in the Maharashtra has emerged as the strong contender for the Leader of the Opposition post in Maharashtra. Congress leader Vijay Vadettiwar is considered to be the frontrunner. Sources said that senior Congress leaders Prithviraj Chavan, Ashok Chavan, Nana Patole, Vijay Wadettiwar, Balasaheb Thorat, Yashomati Thakur, Satish Patil, Sunil Kedar along with some other leaders were present in today's meeting.
