Days after Maha Vikas Aghadi’s crushing defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, state Congress President Nana Patole stepped down from the post, reported NDTV on Monday.
He stepped down from the post after Congress won just 16 out of 103 seats it had contested in the state polls. Apart from Congress’s dismal performance across the state, Patole even struggled to perform well in his constituency, Sakoli, where he managed to win with a thin margin of just 208 votes.
Nana Patole ensured Congress’s promising performance in Lok Sabha polls
Congress’s disappointing performance in Maharashtra Assembly polls starkly contrasts with the Lok Sabha Elections, where the grand old party received an overwhelming response in the state. The party had performed well in the state during parliamentary elections in the first half of the year under Nana Patole’s leadership. The party had won 13 out of 17 seats it contested. The party had won the highest number of seats among all Maha Vikas Aghadi allies.
He took charge of Maharashtra Congress in 2021 after replacing Balasaheb Thorat. Due to Congress’s promising performance in Lok Sabha, Patole had bargained hard during seat-sharing talks for Maharashtra Assembly Polls. Congress’s stern demand led to friction between other MVA allies, including Shiv Sena UBT and NCP (Sharad Pawar).
Maharashtra Assembly Elections
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance secured 230 seats out of the total 288 constituencies in the Maharashtra Assembly Election results announced on Saturday, November 23.
The BJP regained its strength in the state after a disappointing performance in Lok Sabha elections. BJP bagged 132 seats, whereas other Mahayuti alliance parties, including NCP, Shiv Sena, won 41 seats.
The result was equally shocking for MVA, where Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray suffered a rude jolt for their respective parties. Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray won 20 seats, Congress secured 16 and Sharad Pawar led NCP (SP) won only 10 seats.