<p>Unease is brewing in the Maharashtra Congress over the party's decision to field Uttar Pradesh-based Urdu poet Imran Pratapgarhi for the Rajya Sabha elections.</p>.<p>Of the six seats, Congress, which has 44 MLAs, can win only one seat.</p>.<p>The retiring Congress member from the state is senior leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram.</p>.<p>Veteran Congressman Mukul Wasnik has been accommodated from Rajasthan.</p>.<p>However, the decision of the Congress high command has put the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) at unease.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/fielding-extra-nominees-and-supporting-independents-bjp-moves-to-corner-opposition-in-rajya-sabha-polls-1114116.html" target="_blank">BJP moves to corner Opposition in Rajya Sabha polls</a></strong></p>.<p>MPCC general secretary Ashish Deshmukh wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and resigned from his post. He, however, said he will continue to work for the party as a loyal worker.</p>.<p>“Due to the imposition of Imran Pratapgarhi from Uttar Pradesh in Maharashtra for Rajya Sabha, I am resigning from the post of general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Imposing an outside candidate will not benefit the party in terms of growth. This is the injustice done to the general Congress workers in Maharashtra,” he said in the letter.</p>.<p>Ashish is the son of former state Congress president and minister Ranjeet Deshmukh.</p>.<p>Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan too expressed his resentment. “Wasnik got a seat from Rajasthan, while Pratapgarhi, who is a leader from Uttar Pradesh, got a seat from Maharashtra,” he told reporters in Nagpur.</p>.<p>The first one to flag the concern was actor-politician Nagma, who addressed her tweet to Gandhi. "Sonia Ji, our Congress president, had personally committed to accommodating me in Rajya Sabha in 2003-04 when I joined the Congress party at her behest. We were not in power then. Since then it has been 18 years, they did not find an opportunity. Mr Imran is accommodated in RS from Maharashtra. I ask, am I less deserving,” she said in a tweet.</p>.<p>In fact, Congress has overlooked several aspirants like Sanjay Nirupam, Milind Deora and Naseem Khan.</p>.<p>However, state Congress president Nana Patole said Congress is a democratic party and individuals can speak, but what matters is the party's decision. “We agree with the decision of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. There are no disputes within Congress. We respect the decision of the high command,” he said, adding that it does not matter if the candidate is from another state.</p>
<p>Unease is brewing in the Maharashtra Congress over the party's decision to field Uttar Pradesh-based Urdu poet Imran Pratapgarhi for the Rajya Sabha elections.</p>.<p>Of the six seats, Congress, which has 44 MLAs, can win only one seat.</p>.<p>The retiring Congress member from the state is senior leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram.</p>.<p>Veteran Congressman Mukul Wasnik has been accommodated from Rajasthan.</p>.<p>However, the decision of the Congress high command has put the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) at unease.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/fielding-extra-nominees-and-supporting-independents-bjp-moves-to-corner-opposition-in-rajya-sabha-polls-1114116.html" target="_blank">BJP moves to corner Opposition in Rajya Sabha polls</a></strong></p>.<p>MPCC general secretary Ashish Deshmukh wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and resigned from his post. He, however, said he will continue to work for the party as a loyal worker.</p>.<p>“Due to the imposition of Imran Pratapgarhi from Uttar Pradesh in Maharashtra for Rajya Sabha, I am resigning from the post of general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Imposing an outside candidate will not benefit the party in terms of growth. This is the injustice done to the general Congress workers in Maharashtra,” he said in the letter.</p>.<p>Ashish is the son of former state Congress president and minister Ranjeet Deshmukh.</p>.<p>Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan too expressed his resentment. “Wasnik got a seat from Rajasthan, while Pratapgarhi, who is a leader from Uttar Pradesh, got a seat from Maharashtra,” he told reporters in Nagpur.</p>.<p>The first one to flag the concern was actor-politician Nagma, who addressed her tweet to Gandhi. "Sonia Ji, our Congress president, had personally committed to accommodating me in Rajya Sabha in 2003-04 when I joined the Congress party at her behest. We were not in power then. Since then it has been 18 years, they did not find an opportunity. Mr Imran is accommodated in RS from Maharashtra. I ask, am I less deserving,” she said in a tweet.</p>.<p>In fact, Congress has overlooked several aspirants like Sanjay Nirupam, Milind Deora and Naseem Khan.</p>.<p>However, state Congress president Nana Patole said Congress is a democratic party and individuals can speak, but what matters is the party's decision. “We agree with the decision of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. There are no disputes within Congress. We respect the decision of the high command,” he said, adding that it does not matter if the candidate is from another state.</p>
