Alliance politics has hurt party's prospects in Konkan region: Maharashtra Congress chief

Chiplun (Maharashtra), Mar 1 (PTI) Alliance politics has impacted the Congress in coastal Konkan, and the party will now focus on strengthening its organisation in the region, state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said on Sunday.

Sapkal and other leaders attended a three-day training workshop for local body representatives of Congress from the Konkan region at Chiplun in Ratnagiri district.

The Konkan region was considered a bastion of undivided Shiv Sena, before BJP and the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, made an aggressive foray.

In recent civic and local body polls, Congress, which is part of Maha Vikas Aghadi, secured some municipal council president posts and councillor seats, but these wins were not enough to signify major political strength.

Organisationally, Congress faces leadership gaps and weakening grassroots networks in Konkan.

Addressing the concluding session of the workshop online, AICC general secretary Ramesh Chennithala accused the BJP of promoting divisive politics on religious lines.

Chennithala said the Congress has always upheld equality among all religions, while the BJP has allegedly fuelled Hindu-Muslim divisions over the past decade.

"The Congress party has always taught equal respect for all religions and has done politics by taking all communities together. However, for the last 12 years, the BJP has been creating Hindu-Muslim disputes and doing divisive politics in the country. This conspiracy to disturb social harmony must be defeated," he added.

He appealed to the party workers not to lose courage amid electoral setbacks and instead focus on strengthening the Congress organisation at all levels.

Sapkal said the workshop was aimed at leadership development and energising grassroots workers, especially in Konkan, where the party had suffered due to alliance politics.

He criticised the state government over the alleged neglect of the memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj at Sangameshwar, claiming that repeated announcements were made but not implemented.

"The camp was aimed at developing leadership and energising grassroots workers. The alliance politics affected the Congress in Konkan, and the party would now focus on strengthening its organisation in the region," said the state Congress president.

Sapkal alleged that the memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj at Sangameshwar is in a very poor condition.

"Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis) and ministers have repeatedly announced a memorial but have not implemented the project," he claimed. PTI MR NSK