Nana Patole takes charge as Maharashtra Congress chief

Newly elected state Congress president Nana Patole on Friday formally accepted the post from outgoing state party chief Balasaheb Thorat in Mumbai.

The Congress on February 5 appointed Nana Patole as the party’s Maharashtra state committee president, replacing Balasaheb Thorat. Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, had resigned as Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly a day before the announcement.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had also appointed six working presidents Shivaji Rao Moge, Basavaraj Patil, Mohamed Arif Naseem Khan, Kunal Rohidas Patil, Chandrakanth Handore and Pranati Shushilkumar Shinde to work in coordination with Patole.

Patole, a four-time MLA, had briefly quit the Congress to join the BJP and had successfully contested the Bhandara- Gondia Lok Sabha seat against NCP leader Praful Patel in 2014.

However, he had quit the BJP following differences. The Congress shares power with the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra.