Corporators supporting Gurudas Kamat to resign

Congress loyalists, along with Mahila Congress, Youth Congress, NSUI members and supporters, gathered at Mumbai Regional Congress Committee office and urged their leader Gurudas Kamat to take back his resignation and continue to guide them. (Photo: Shripad Naik)

Mumbai Congress appears to be on the verge of a split as nearly 25 corporators who support former senior leader Gurudas Kamat have threatened to resign from their posts alleging ‘ill-treatment’ meted out to party loyalists. This might plunge the beleaguered party into further crisis while they prepare for the next civic polls.

Mr Kamat, also a former MP, has resigned from his post of general secretary. The reverberation of his decision is expected to be felt in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), where he has a sizable number of corporators supporting him.

On Wednesday, many Congress leaders and activists sat on dharna at Azad Maidan, to urge Mr Kamat to take back his resignation. They accused city Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam of sidelining the party loyalists.

Speaking to The Asian Age, senior Congress corporator Devendra Amberkar said, “We will submit our resignations as corporators to the party in couple of days if Kamat saheb does not withdraw his resignation. While the party is gearing for the BMC polls, we need a dynamic leader like him for its preparation.”

The Kamat supporters have already been seething with anger after Mr Amberkar was unceremoniously sacked as the opposition leader in the BMC and replaced by Pravin Chheda, a confidante of Mr Nirupam, a few days ago. Another Kamat supporter Sheetal Mhatre has also been removed from the civic standing committee.

According to the Kamat supporters, the party leadership has been turning a blind eye towards the suggestions made by their leader. They have demanded to scrap the newly-made appointment of party block presidents by Mr Nirupam in the city.

The present strength of Congress in the BMC is 52. If Kamat-supporter corporators decide to resign, the party’s force would be down by almost half and it would also lose the post of opposition leader in the civic body.

Meanwhile, Kamat appealed to the party corporators not to submit any resignations in a protest issued a message.

State party chief Ashok Chavan however said, “His contribution to the party is immense and there is nothing wrong if a few workers comes forward to express their views.”