Harshawardhan Sapkal, new MPCC chief.
Credit: MPCC
Mumbai: Springing a surprise, the Congress on Thursday appointed Harshawardhan Sapkal as the Maharashtra Congress President, replacing Nana Patole, who had accepted the responsibility of the party’s debacle in the Vidhan Sabha elections.
59-year-old Sapkal hails from the Buldhana district and is a former MLA.
The Congress high command also approved the appointment of Brahmapuri MLA Vijay Wadettiwar as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Maharashtra.
Though Sapkal is not a prominent figure, he is however an organisation man, having served the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) in several capacities.
Sapkal takes inspiraton from the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, Tukdoji Mahara and Gadge Maharaj.
He served as AICC Secretary in neighbouring states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and the ICC Observer for Odisha polls.
He is also the Chairman of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Sangathan and the former Vice President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress.
After the Vidhan Sabha polls, Patole met the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and offered to step down, owing moral responsibility for the defeat.
"The Congress President has appointed Harshwardhan Sapkal as the president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing president Nana Patole," a statement from AICC general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal said in a statement.