Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan (PTI photo)
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting scheduled for Thursday to elect its new leader in Maharashtra is likely to be stormy with several legislators opposing the appointment of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to the post.
Former minister Abdul Sattar who hails from Marathwada was vocal about the opposition to Chavan while interacting with reporters at the Congress party office in Mumbai on Wednesday.
"The Congress fared miserably in the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly polls under Prithviraj Chavan's leadership. It would be unfair if he is made Congress Legislative Party Leader (CLP) leader. There is tremendous resentment among newly elected MLAs and candidates who lost due to how the campaign was run," Mr Sattar told reporters.
Around 25 to 30 Congress candidates lost the elections because adequate funds were not allocated to them to run their campaign, he alleged.
"There is no way that Prithviraj Chavan will be accepted by newly elected MLAs. We had to face poll reverses because of his style of functioning. If he is made CLP leader, the party will suffer," he said, adding that about 30 newly elected MLAs are likely to meet tonight to chalk out their strategy for tomorrow's CLP meeting.
"We need a new face who is knowledgeable about issues and a good orator who is ready to take on the government, but Chavan has none of the qualities," Mr Sattar, a close aide of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said.
Mr Sattar also said that the issue of alleged theft of Rs 10 crore sent by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) as election funds would also be raised at tomorrow's meeting.