MUMBAI, Feb 21: Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal has said it would be wrong to conclude that his party has weakened after its worst-ever performance in the recent Maharashtra assembly polls.
Calling the present scenario a “do-or-die situation”, Sapkal, who recently took charge as the Maharashtra Congress chief, said he has accepted the challenge to revitalise the state unit.
“It is a wrong perception that the cadre is demoralised… election results were shocking and the cadre is eager for a course correction. We won only 16 seats but that doesn’t mean we have become weak. You will see their enthusiasm once we get into the action mode,” Sapkal told PTI in an interview.
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The Congress, a partner of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bloc, won just 16 of the 288 assembly seats in last year’s Maharashtra polls despite fielding candidates in 101 constituencies.
Sapkal accused the BJP-led government of not wanting to hold local body elections, saying he doesn’t foresee any such polls in the near future. Civic elections in Maharashtra have been pending for nearly two years.
“The Panchayati Raj amendments resulted in the devolution of power at the grassroots level. But the government doesn’t want local body elections to happen. People have also forgotten that there were elected representatives in the form of corporators and Zilla Parishad members,” he said.
Stressing the need for civic polls, Sapkal alleged that the idea of India was envisaged in the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, which established local self-governance in urban and rural areas, but was not being allowed to take shape.
“There are 4,250 MLAs and 750 MPs in the country. How can such a large country of 140 crore people, about 30 states, 8,000 cities, and more than 6 lakh villages function under the leadership of about 5,000 elected representatives?
“But the BJP wants all powers in the hands of the chief minister in states and the prime minister and Union home minister at the Centre. Legal complications were created over OBC (Other Backward Classes) quota in many states and there were many litigations,” he claimed.
Sapkal said he has accepted the challenge to lead the state Congress unit which saw its worst-ever performance in last year’s assembly polls. “I have the support and backing of the cadre and leaders. It’s a do-or-die situation for us,” he said.
The prevailing political strategy is perception creation, and the BJP tried to trap us by shaping a narrative against the Congress, he said.
The ground reality is all about issues connected to people’s livelihood like the cost of cultivation, crop rate for farmers, unemployment and price rise, he said. But the government wants to protect the interests of a few, he alleged.
“Today, there are only two ideologies – BJP and Congress. We have to fight the ideological battle unitedly and in a disciplined way,” he said.
The Congress leader claimed caste and religion are being used to create a trust deficit in society and said there was a need to maintain social harmony.
“We must work towards ensuring harmony in the state whose social fabric has been strained. We have to establish ‘sadbhavana (goodwill)’. Otherwise, the crisis will affect not just the future generations but our own lifetime as well,” he said.
The structure of the Congress is solid and capable of handling this social crisis, he said.
“The links of coordination among voters, cadre and leaders which have loosened need to be strengthened. Responsibility and accountability need to be fixed. Giving mass leaders responsibility, accommodating loyalists and replacing inefficient office-bearers will be my focus areas,” he said.
Sadbhavana meetings and training programmes all over the state will also be his priority areas, Sapkal said.
Unlike the BJP whose backbone is the RSS, the Congress’s backbone is its legacy and traditions, said Sapkal.
“The Congress’ DNA is the country’s DNA because the Congress is a mass-based party. We need to address any loopholes within the party,” he said.
Sapkal said even though the Congress faces challenging times, it trusts the people of the country and will continue to raise their issues.
“There is not a single village in the country which doesn’t have a Congress worker. In times of struggle, everyone unites. At present, a lot of doubts are being raised about the party but the fact is that the Congress is still strong,” he asserted. (PTI)
