Even as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hosted 100 Opposition MPs for breakfast on Tuesday, he’s likely to also make his first visit to Maharashtra since the MVA government came to power in 2019. The party, however, has not confirmed when he would be touring the state. Gandhi has reportedly shown keen interest in how late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray worked, handled his party and relations.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who met Gandhi on Monday, said, “We had a healthy exchange of ideas on various issues during our meeting. The Congress leader sounded positive and assured .”
Raut said Gandhi sought to urge an insight into Balasaheb’s sort of working. “Rahul wanted to understand Balasaheb’s nature and his sort of working. He wanted to understand how the Sena chief went about handling his party, his leaders and relationships with other parties. He was interested by the Shiv Sena and Balasaheb,” he said.
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Raut further said Gandhi checked out ease with himself and can even be visiting Maharashtra and meeting leaders of the three-party alliance. “Rahul told me that he would be visiting Maharashtra, but didn’t specify when,” he added.
Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari said, “There are speculation over Rahul’s visit to Maharashtra. However, the Congress headquarters has not yet confirmed his visit. If the date is finalised, state Congress chief will make an announcement.”
Since the MVA government came into power, neither has Gandhi visited Maharashtra nor has he met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Thackeray, however, said he discussed state matters with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul over the phone.
A Congress leader said it had been important for Rahul to go to Maharashtra and take steps to re-energise the party rank and file. “Congress leaders and workers are expecting Rahul’s visit for long. He toured Maharashtra during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, but his visits were confined to some pockets only. He and Priyanka didn’t tour or interact with party workers and leaders. If they are doing , it’ll infuse new energy and enthusiasm within the party rank and file,” he said.
Congress leaders said Rahul’s visit would be significant amid reports of souring ties between the three alliance partners over the difficulty of contesting future elections. While Sena and NCP are in favour of jointly contesting polls, state Congress chief Nana Patole has been insisting that his party are going to be fighting the polls on its own. On the opposite hand, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said any such decision regarding this is able to be made by top leaders of the party. The Sena has also expressed an equivalent view.