'One step away from shutting down': Sanjay Nirupam on Maharashtra Congress office, says rent unpaid for months

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Friday claimed that the state unit of Congress is going through a severe monetary crunch leading to nonpayment of rent and electricity bill of the party office. Former state president of the grand-old-party, who joined Eknath Shinde months before the assembly elections said that the incompetence of the state and the national leadership of the party led to this situation.
"The Mumbai Congress is just one step away from being shut down. The current ineffective and incompetent leaders of the Mumbai Congress are to blame for this situation. The office, which operates in the premises of the Maharashtra government's PWD department, has not paid rent for several years, resulting in an outstanding bill of 18 lakh rupees. The electricity bill has reached nearly 5 lakh rupees, and the electricity supply company eventually removed the meter and disconnected the power," Nirupam said.
"This situation reflects the lack of leadership and capability among the leaders. For about 9 to 10 months, Mumbai Congress employees have not received their salaries. The party is in a silent mode with no events being organized, mainly because the leadership has completely failed," he added.
Further, taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Nirupam said that leaders seldom meet party workers in the state and make a video for YouTube and leave. He blamed the Congress' alliance with Thackeray’s party, Shiv Sena (UBT), for its decline.
"Rahul Gandhi yesterday came to Mumbai not as a Congress leader but as a YouTuber to make a video in Dharavi. While the Mumbai Congress' condition is getting worse, their leaders are more busy making videos," Nirupam said
"This is the result of effective leadership. In 2019, when the alliance between Shiv Sena and Congress was forming, I advised against it, warning that the Congress party would gradually weaken. Five to six years later, this prediction is coming true, with only three MLAs remaining, who rely heavily on Muslim votes. Currently, in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray's party is the first choice because they appear strong. The Mumbai Congress and the Congress party have become subordinate to Uddhav Thackeray's party, and the incompetence of Delhi's leaders is evident. They have accepted that they cannot stand on their own and rely on allies, leading to the party's downfall. In the coming days, the Congress party in Maharashtra will face a similar fate as it did in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar," he added.
This comes days after Harshwardhan Sapkal became the new chief of the party's Maharashtra unit. Sapkal takes over from Nana Patole, who had resigned following the party's poor performance in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
In the 2024 assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP won 235 of the 288 seats, with BJP securing 132 alone. Shinde's Sena secured 57 seats and Ajit Pawar's NCP got 41 seats.
On the other hand, it was a disappointing show by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which was hoping for a grand comeback. Uddhav's Sena got 20 seats, Congress 16 and Sharad Pawar's NCP secured 10 seats.