Stay united to defeat BJP: Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress party general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge has warned party workers to bury the hatchet, stay together and work as a team, with the aim of defeating the BJP-led government in the state. During his two-day visit and maiden interaction with party leaders, Kharge said: ''United we win, divided we fall," hinting that intra-party feud won't be tolerated.

In order to counter the BJP's poll preparations up to booth level, Kharge asked the state unit to further strengthen the organisation at the level of 90,000 booths across the state and thereby regain voters' confidence. He wanted party members to extensively reach out to voters, highlighting the failures of the Central and state governments and lack of implementation of a slew of announcements.

Kharge said: "If the Congress revives and wins maximum seats in Mumbai (36 assembly seats and 6 Lok Sabha seats), the party will have a fair chance of forming the state government. If that happens, the Congress will come to power in New Delhi." He told the leaders that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is banking on improvement in the party's tally in the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Former Rajya Sabha member Dr Bhalchandra Mungekar told DNA: "Kharge's advice and appeal to party leaders and workers to bury their internal differences and work together is indeed timely."

Kharge's strong words come at a time when the state party unit is still a divided house and former ministers, senior leaders and rank and file are not ready to counter this reality. After a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, the Congress party has failed to revive at the grass roots level as leaders were unable to put up a show of unity against the mighty BJP.

Congress party, which had ruled the state in an alliance with Nationalist Congress Party, between 1999 and 2014, had negligible presence in some districts. In Mumbai, the party had won five of the total 36 assembly seats, but failed to open it's account in six Lok Sabha segments in 2014. At the state level, Congress had bagged mere two Lok Sabha seats.

Former cabinet minister and party legislator Naseem Khan said that Kharge has asked party leaders and workers to unitedly take on the BJP, and focus on further strengthening the organisation across the state.

Meanwhile, on the Congress party's move to ally with NCP and other like-minded parties and secular forces, Kharge said that the party is in favour of a broad alliance to defeat the BJP at the Centre and in the state. However, he asked party leaders and workers to be ready to go solo if pre-poll tie ups do not happen.

POLL BUGLE

• Kharge asked the state unit to strengthen the organisation at the level of 90,000 booths across the state and thereby regain voters’ confidence. 
   
• He told party members to reach out to voters, highlight the failures of the Central and state govts, and talk about the lack of implementation of a slew of announcements.