Deora’s exit shows Cong failed to resolve leadership crisis in Mumbai

MUMBAI: That Milind Deora was unhappy in the Congress was visible for the past couple of years. A former Mumbai unit chief and two-term MP, he was expecting a bigger role, especially when the party was struggling to revive its fortunes in the city where it was founded in 1885. He was also keen on contesting from the South Mumbai constituency in the coming Lok Sabha elections, but the party conceded the seat to ally Shiv Sena (UBT), which had won it in 2014 and 2019. This proved to be the proverbial last straw, and Deora quit, severing his family’s 55-year long association with the Congress.

His exit will hurt the Congress as well as the MVA’s prospects in Mumbai in the coming parliamentary and assembly elections. Deora has a considerable number of supporters in the party organisation who may follow him. Besides, Murli and Milind Deora had a connect with voters in several parts of the city, and many of them may not support the Congress in this year’s elections.

Also read: Who is Milind Deora? A look at his family's 5-decades-long ties with Congress

The bigger issue here—proved by Deora’s exit—is that the Congress leadership has not managed to stop its downward slide in Mumbai. For years, the party had staunch support from slum dwellers, minorities, Dalits and the non-Marathi-speaking population such as North Indians and Gujarati-Marwaris. Its main rival, the Shiv Sena, had a hold over largely Marathi-speaking areas. With the emergence of Narendra Modi at the national level, the BJP built a strong base in the two largest sections after Maharashtrians—Gujarati-Marwaris and North Indians. The Congress, however, has failed to recover lost ground—as of now, it does not have a single MP in six parliamentary seats and just four MLAs in 36 assembly constituencies.

The debacles in successive elections coincided with the leadership crisis in the Mumbai Congress. In the past decade, the party has rarely shown its strength on the ground by way of agitations or cornering the government over people-centric issues. It is riddled with factionalism, with local leaders publicly targeting each other without fear of consequences.

For over three decades, two stalwart leaders of the Mumbai Congress—Murli Deora and Gurudas Kamat—ensured that the party organisation remained strong in the city and all factions worked together. After them, the party has been facing a big leadership crisis in its Mumbai unit.

The Congress top brass tried handing over the reins of Mumbai to different leaders, including Kripashankar Singh, Sanjay Nirupam, Bhai Jagtap and Deora too, but none of them could succeed as the party had failed to rebuild its support base and, more importantly, could not control the factionalism within.

Also read: 'Timing determined by PM': Jairam Ramesh reveals last conversation with Milind Deora

Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad, who was appointed as Mumbai Congress president in June 2023, is still struggling to work with various warring factions and in the face of a credibility crisis among voters. There is considerable unease in the party after it teamed up with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, its rival in Mumbai for decades—several Congress leaders said there was no dialogue with the party’s rank and file on this issue.

“Firstly, the top brass is not even trying seriously to find out what is ailing the Congress in Mumbai and resolve the problems,” lamented a senior Congress leader who was once closely associated with Deora. “And no serious efforts were made when it was evident that Deora was on the verge of quitting the party. We spoke to him, and he said he wanted to talk with the central leadership. It seems he was not given an appointment. There is no crisis management mechanism in the party.”

Atul Londhe, general secretary of the Maharashtra Congress and chief spokesperson, denied the allegations that the party leadership did not take cognisance of Deora’s concerns. “As far as I know, the top brass responded to Deora after he expressed his unhappiness,” he said. “He was even made joint treasurer at the national level recently. The reasons that are being cited now are excuses. He could pick up the phone any time and talk to our leadership.”

Political analyst Abhay Deshpande said the Congress top brass had not been able to figure out how to revive the party’s fortunes in Mumbai. “They tried various measures but nothing seems to have worked out,” he said. “Things have become more complicated since the formation of the MVA. With the Shiv Sena becoming an ally, there is a clash of interest between the two parties, and various Congress leaders are unhappy because of the adjustments the party has had to make. Deora’s exit is the outcome of all of this put together.”