BMC polls setback: Congress leader demands Mumbai unit chief’s resignation; gets party notice

NEW DELHI: A day after the Congress recorded its lowest-ever tally in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, factional fault lines resurfaced in the party’s Mumbai unit, with a senior leader demanding the resignation of city president Varsha Gaikwad on moral grounds.Gaikwad has come under pressure after the Congress won only 24 seats in the 227-member civic body, down from 31 seats it had secured in the 2017 elections.

Former Mumbai Congress president and MLC Bhai Jagtap said Gaikwad should step down, arguing that the party’s performance marked a historic low. “When candidates were selected, I was told that tickets were distributed based on a survey. I didn’t object that time, but when I asked for the survey, it wasn’t shown to me,” Jagtap said, as quoted by PTI Videos.In response, the Congress on Saturday issued a showcause notice to Jagtap for indiscipline following his public criticism of Gaikwad and demand for her resignation.