Maharashtra Congress president and newly elected MLA from the Sakoli Assembly seat, Nana Patole, denied media reports about his resignation from the post of party chief in the state.
Speaking to the media, Patole said, "I am going to meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. I have not submitted my resignation."
Earlier it was reported that after the crushing defeat of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, Nana Patole offered to resign as Congress state president, taking moral responsibility for the loss. However, conflicting reports claim that Patole has not yet made a final decision, and there has been no confirmation from him or the party regarding his resignation.
The ruling Mahayuti coalition secured a resounding victory, winning 235 seats with 49.6% of the vote share, while the MVA lagged far behind with just 49 seats and 35.3% of the votes. The Congress, in particular, suffered a major setback, winning only 16 of the 103 seats it contested.
Patole, who contested from the Sakoli seat, narrowly retained his position with a margin of just 208 votes—the smallest margin of his political career. This is a sharp contrast to his 2019 Assembly election performance, where he won the same seat by nearly 8,000 votes. His narrow victory this year ranks among the closest contests in the state.
Patole reportedly sought to meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Monday to discuss his resignation but was unable to do so. The party high command has not yet acted on his reported resignation.