Following their remarkable success in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party is now gearing up for the upcoming state assembly elections. Under the leadership of Nana Patole, the party secured 13 seats in the Lok Sabha, a significant increase from just one seat in 2019, showcasing Patole's effective leadership and gaining favor with the party high command. Consequently, Congress has decided to contest the Vidhansabha elections with Nana Patole at the helm. However, these elections will be contested as part of the Mahavikas Aghadi coalition, which includes negotiations between Congress, Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction), and Sharad Pawar's NCP for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra.
To facilitate this coordination within the Mahavikas Aghadi, Congress has appointed a 10-member committee. Of these, three leaders are assigned specifically for Mumbai. Acting on the directive of the Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, this committee has been tasked with seat allocation within the coalition. Seven members will focus on Maharashtra, while the remaining three will concentrate on Mumbai.
The upcoming state assembly elections will see the Congress party, Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction), and Sharad Pawar's NCP forming the Mahavikas Aghadi. Prominent leaders from these parties will lead the negotiations for seat sharing. Given Congress's status as a national party, senior leaders from Delhi cannot be present for every discussion, hence the formation of the local 10-member committee in Maharashtra, which includes both seasoned and senior leaders, as well as three key leaders from Mumbai.
For the assembly seat allocation discussions, Congress has appointed Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, Vijay Wadettiwar, Prithviraj Chavan, Satej Patil, Naseem Khan, and Nitin Raut to the committee. The Mumbai representatives are Varsha Gaikwad, Bhai Jagtap, and Aslam Shaikh. This indicates that Congress is actively strategizing for the upcoming state elections.
Notably, senior leader Sushilkumar Shinde and the prominent young leader Vishwajit Kadam have not been included in the committee. However, former minister Satej Patil, who played a crucial role in Kolhapur's victory, has been appointed to the 10-member committee.