Congress needs to introspect, reconnect with rural base after Maharashtra civic poll setback: Anant Gadgil

Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Anant Gadgil has called for urgent "introspection" within the party over its dismal performance in the recent Maharashtra municipal elections, pointing out that the fold must reconnect with its core workers and rural base to survive.

Gadgil stressed that the Congress needs to look inward at a time when the political discourse is dominated by the BJP's victory and the internal bickering within the ruling Mahayuti over the mayoral posts.

In the recently concluded civic polls, the Congress, which allied with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), RSP, and RPI (Gavai), logged its historically lowest tally, managing just 24 seats in the 227-member BMC.

The alliance of the BJP and Shiv Sena won a clear majority in the cash-rich civic body, securing 89 and 29 seats, respectively, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) won 65 seats, and its ally, MNS, emerged victorious on six.

The former legislator, in a statement, cited "disconnect" between the leadership and the ground reality.

He said that the four key areas of concern were the sidelining of loyalists in favour of "party-hoppers", the rising influence of "money power" over ideology, a non-transparent candidate selection process, and the cessation of pre-election training programmes for party workers.

"Instead of holding any single individual responsible, the party must engage in a comprehensive internal dialogue," Gadgil said.

He emphasised that with rapid urbanisation in Maharashtra, the Congress must promote leaders who command genuine public respect and middle-class support, moving beyond the traditional arithmetic of "money and caste".

In view of the upcoming Zilla Parishad polls, he cautioned that retaining the rural and farmer vote bank is essential for the party.

He urged the leadership to organise a 'Chintan Shivir' (brainstorming session) to devise a roadmap for the party's rejuvenation in the state.

In 29 municipal corporation polls in Maharashtra, Congress has bagged 324 seats, gaining an upper hand in the Opposition bloc, while the ruling BJP are far ahead with 1,425 seats. In the 246 municipal council and 42 nagar panchayat polls, the saffron party has 2,431 seats, while the Congress has 824.