Nana Patole Resigns As Maharashtra Congress Chief After Party's Worst-Ever Show, Narrowly Wins In Sakoli By 208 Votes

Political tremors have begun in Maharashtra following the crushing defeat of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the assembly elections. State Congress president Nana Patole has resigned after the party secured only 16 of the 103 seats it contested.

Patole himself narrowly won his Sakoli constituency by a margin of just 208 votes. The Congress' ally parties, Shiv Sena (Uddhab Balasaheb Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) also performed badly winning 20 and 10 seats respectively.

A former MP, Patole took over as the state Congress chief in 2021, succeeding Balasaheb Thorat. Under his leadership, the party achieved a remarkable performance in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, winning 13 of the 17 seats it contested — the best outcome among MVA allies.

This success emboldened the Congress during seat-sharing negotiations for the Assembly polls, creating tensions with partners Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). At one stage, reports suggested that Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders refused to engage in talks if Patole was involved.

Just two days before the election results, Patole caused further friction within the alliance by asserting that the Congress would lead the MVA government if elected. This statement drew sharp criticism from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who rejected the idea outright.

The results, however, delivered a significant blow to the MVA, which failed to cross the 50-seat mark, while the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance surged to a commanding victory with 232 seats. The Congress suffered its worst-ever performance in the state, with its tally dropping from 44 in the previous elections to just 16.

Reacting to the loss, Congress leaders described the outcome as "unexpected" and "inexplicable." Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh expressed concerns over an uneven electoral playing field, stating, "The results are surprising and raise questions about fairness. We will thoroughly analyze the factors behind this performance."