Nagpur: Former MLA of Buldhana and Central President of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Committee Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed as the new Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President. Nana Patole had tendered his resignation from the post in November 2024 after the results of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls were out.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday made the appointment of Sapkal as the new MPCC chief. Sapkal was elected as MLA in 2014 representing the Buldhana Assembly Constituency. All India Congress Committee General Secretary K CVenugopal’s statement read, “The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing President Nana Patole.”
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Friday 14 Feb. 2025
It was during Patole’s regime that the Party won maximum seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. On Wednesday, a lot of names were doing the rounds on social media for the post of MPCC President, and Harshvardhan Sapkal was on top. Congress high command convened a meeting at Delhi to take final call on the appointment of new MPCC President.
The political pundits have expressed surprise over the name of Sapkal as Congress did not consider the leaders like Amit Deshmukh, Latur MLA; Satej Patil of Kolhapur, Vishwajeet Kadam, and some others for the post. According to some leaders in Congress, the party too wants to make changes like Bharatiya Janata Party.
Patole’s resignation was accepted in the meeting. The post of State President, which was with East Vidarbha till now, will go to West Vidarbha. Harshwardhan Sapkal is considered a close aide of Rahul Gandhi. Congress leaders from Western Maharashtra kept whispering that since the post of State President was given to Vidarbha till now, it should be given to Western Maharashtra.
Vijay Wadettiwar from Vidarbha was an aspirant. However, as the senior leaders did not trust his party loyalty, his name was dropped. Former Minister Yashomati Thakur was not interested. Therefore, the name of Harshvardhan Sapkal, who is not in the discussion in Vidarbha but has party loyalty and direct contact with Rahul Gandhi, came up.
Harshvardhan Sapkal’s political journey
Harshvardhan Sapkal has risen from the ranks, from Zilla Parishad member to MLA. He was the Zilla Parishad President from 1999 to 2002. He was known as the youngest President in Maharashtra at that time. He was also a Congress MLA from 2014 to 2019. During this period, he implemented a water conservation management project in the constituency. Since the State Presidents are being appointed in the backdrop of the upcoming elections of local self-government bodies, the new President will have a big challenge of winning these elections.
Harshvardhan Sapkal is currently the National President of the Congress’s Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Organisation. He has played an important role in the creation of Gram Swarajya based on the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave. Sapkal has experience in organising nation-building youth camps based on Sarvodaya ideology, active participation in the Gram Swachata Abhiyan and Adarsh Gram Movement.
