BMC polls setback: Ex-Mumbai Congress president seeks Varsha Gaikwad’s resignation; party issues show-cause notice

File photo: Congress leader Bhai Jagtap

NEW DELHI: A day after the Congress recorded its lowest-ever tally in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, factional fault lines resurfaced in the party’s Mumbai unit, with a senior leader demanding the resignation of city president Varsha Gaikwad on moral grounds.Gaikwad has come under pressure after the Congress won only 24 seats in the 227-member civic body, down from 31 seats it had secured in the 2017 elections.Former Mumbai Congress president and MLC Bhai Jagtap said Gaikwad should step down, arguing that the party’s performance marked a historic low. “When candidates were selected, I was told that tickets were distributed based on a survey. I didn’t object that time, but when I asked for the survey, it wasn’t shown to me,” Jagtap said, as quoted by PTI Videos.In response, Congress issued a show-cause notice to Jagtap for indiscipline after he publicly criticised Gaikwad over the party’s performance in the BMC elections and demanded her resignation.

The poor showing has intensified internal debate within the party, even as the Congress leadership sought to play down the setback.Mumbai Congress chief spokesperson Sachin Sawant defended the outcome, saying the party’s performance was satisfactory given the “adverse” circumstances under which the polls were held. He said Congress workers fought with determination despite pressure from the ruling alliance.Sawant alleged that the BJP-led Mahayuti misused the police, administration and election machinery, and resorted to “inducement, intimidation and division” during the polls. “Despite this, Congress workers did not lose courage and fought resolutely,” he said, adding that while the number of seats won was not large, the result was “morale-boosting” and gave the party energy to rebuild its organisation.The Congress contested the elections without its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners and instead tied up with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), RSP and RPI (Gavai) to contest 152 seats. However, the allies failed to win any seats. Responding to criticism over the alliance, Sawant said seats were offered to the Vanchit alliance but candidates were not available in some areas, leading to friendly contests in a few wards. “With better planning from both sides, the outcome could have been better,” he said.In the high-stakes BMC polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, wresting control of the cash-rich civic body from Uddhav Thackeray’s family after nearly three decades. The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) won 29 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 65 seats in alliance with the MNS, which won six. Smaller parties including AIMIM, NCP and Samajwadi Party also opened their accounts.The results reflect a broader trend across Maharashtra, where the BJP-led Mahayuti consolidated its dominance in key urban centres, while the MVA struggled to make gains.