Sapkal takes charge as state Congress chief, calls for fresh start

Harshwardhan Sapkal is the new Maharashtra Congress president, emphasizing merit-based appointments and a focus on rebuilding the party after electoral losses.

MUMBAI: Harshwardhan Sapkal assumed charge as state Congress president on Tuesday, calling for a fresh start to rebuild the party in Maharashtra. Delivering a strong message to party workers, Sapkal said, “I have no desire to become an MLC, MP, Rajya Sabha member or chief minister – my sole focus is bringing the party back to power. There’s no point shedding tears over our current situation; we must fight the battle of ideology and strengthen the party organisation.”

Mumbai, India. Feb 18, 2025: Newly appointed Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshvardhan Sapkal took charge from Nana Patole at Tilak Bhavan (State Congress head office) in Mumbai, Nana Patole was MPCC president since 2021 and resigned from the position following the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Mumbai, India. Feb 18, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

Sapkal took the reins of the state Congress from outgoing president Nana Patole at Tilak Bhavan, the party headquarters in Mumbai. He has been chosen to lead the party in Maharashtra after its crushing defeat in last year’s assembly elections. The electoral debacle prompted Patole to resign, owning moral responsibility. His departure left a void not many were keen to fill, given the enormity of the task ahead.

Sapkal is a former MLA from Buldhana and has been active in the party organisation at the national level for several years. His appointment has surprised state Congress leaders, some of them sceptical about the appointment of an understated functionary as the state Congress chief.

It was against this backdrop that Sapkal, along with other party leaders, addressed party workers at the Birla Matoshree auditorium, just after he took charge of his post. His message was clear – while reviving the party in Maharashtra, there would be no room for favoritism and casteism. “New appointments and opportunities will be based purely on merit,” said Sapkal, motivating party workers at the function, organised to felicitate him.

The speeches made by some party leaders reflected the general perception that Sapkal is a committed party worker who was given the opportunity to become state Congress president due to his loyalty to the party high command. Senior leader Balasaheb Thorat and member of Parliament Varsha Gaikwad, in their respective speeches, underlined Sapkal’s experience and organisational abilities, citing examples of his contribution during the assembly elections in Gujarat in 2017 and in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, and also his standing in the party organisation at the national level.

Peppering his speech with Urdu, Hindi and Marathi verse, Sapkal hit the right note when he said everyone was accountable for the party’s defeat in the assembly election. His words were met with a round of applause when he said that not just party workers but the party’s leaders were equally responsible for the mistakes made in the assembly election. Most importantly, he urged everyone to bury the past and get ready for a new start. Sapkal said he was committed to rebuilding the organisation and there would be no place for money power, favoritism and casteism. Going forward, everything would be merit-based, he said, exhorting party workers to “fight the battle of ideology”.

Sapkal called the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a “weak party” which was poaching leaders from other parties and offering them important positions to cover up that vulnerability. “It is a myth that the BJP is a strong party. If it was strong, why did it split the Shiv Sena and NCP,” he remarked.

Asked to comment on facing possibly groupism and lack of cooperation from other party leaders in the state, Sapkal said he would take all leaders into confidence and take decisions only on merit to avoid misunderstandings. “Next week, I will speak to all district party chiefs and other party office-bearers. Later, I will hold discussions with all the leaders and will declare a new programme for the party only after that,” said Sapkal.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, in his speech, declared that new appointments would be based only on merit and performance. “If someone is not performing, he will be discontinued and others will get an opportunity,” he said.