Harshwardhan Sapkal takes charge as Maharashtra Congress president

Harshwardhan Sapkal takes charge as Maharashtra Congress president, aims to strengthen party organisation and bring it back to power.

Former MLA Harshwardhan Sapkal took charge as Maharashtra Congress president on Tuesday, February 19, 2025. After taking charge, Mr. Sapkal said he would strengthen the party’s organisation in Maharashtra and bring the party back in power.

Mr. Sapkal, 57, not a very familiar name in Maharashtra politics, comes from a non-political family where his parents had government jobs.

Speaking to journalists after taking over the role from former State chief Nana Patole, who stepped down after four years, owning moral responsibility for the Congress’s dismal performance in the Assembly election last November, Mr. Sapkal asked all the party workers and leaders of Congress to work together to revive the Congress party’s presence in Maharashtra. He said if they do not work together and try, they can never succeed in this ambition.

Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Sapkal said, “The BJP’s drive to enrol one crore members in Maharashtra and claiming to be the biggest party, has a different picture. If the BJP’s claim that they are the biggest political party, what was the need for them to break the Shiv Sena and NCP, and take Congress leaders in its fold? They are actually weak in Maharashtra.”

He expressed his vision to build the Congress party in Maharashtra and said he will hold discussions with every district unit cheifs, office-bearers and leaders to plan a roadmap for the party. “I want honest and committed party workers who can dedicate their time in building the party in the State. I want to say to the All-India Congress Committee’s (AICC) Maharashtra in-charge, Ramesh Chennithala, that I will not vie for any other post, including Chief Minister. I do not wish to become the Chief Minister, Member of Parliament or MLA. I want to dedicate my time working hard to ensure that the Congress party returns to power, and a Congress leader becomes Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the near future,” he said.

Mr. Chennithala said it is a wise decision by the party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who chose Mr. Sapkal as the State Congress president who has been deeply involved in the Congress’s organisational framework, served as the president of the Buldhana Zilla Parishad from 1999 to 2002 and became one of Maharashtra’s youngest leaders in that role. He was also an MLA from Buldhana between 2014 and 2019.

At the national level, Mr. Sapkal has held key responsibilities within the party, including serving as the National Secretary of the AICC and overseeing organisational affairs in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. He has been part of screening committees for Assembly elections and was the National Coordinator for the Gandhi Vichar Darshan camp at Sevagram, Wardha. “We will work together to rebuild the party’s presence under Mr. Sapkal. We need to strengthen his hands to save democracy and protect the Constitution,” he said.