The Congress party, which is yet to recover from Lok Sabha election drubbing, is facing new issues each day and the latest leader to raise an alarm is Urmila Matondkar. The actor-turned-politician has claimed that failure of party leadership at local level and infighting in its Mumbai unit created "hurdles and obstacles" in her political campaigning during national polls.
In a nine-page letter to then Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora dated May 16, Matondkar stated, "Personal ego issues and complete lack of political maturity displayed by certain key party functionaries of Mumbai North constituency and Mumbai Congress created an atmosphere of distrust and confusion in the entire political campaign. It had a negative and adverse impact on the day-to-day campaigning as well as affected the moral of grass root level party workers."
Deora recently tendered resignation from the post of Congress Mumbai unit chief taking moral responsibility of the humiliating defeat in the general elections.
"Sandesh Kondwilkar who was appointed as a chief co-ordinator of the entire campaign intentionally failed and neglected to mobilize the party workers at the grass root level. Other key functionaries such as Bhushan Patil failed to hold meetings between key functionaries of the party at block level and ward level which resulted in complete failure of communication," read the letter which has now surfaced on social media.
"As a result, there was a total lack of confidence and energy in the party workers which resulted in low participation at their level. Kondwilkar and Patil showed total lack of political maturity and disciplined by repeatedly creating controversies and mosity amongst the party workers," Matondkar claimed while saying that she fought the elections with sincerity and integrity in her constituency.
Matondkar has also claimed that there were constant disputes raised by key-functionaries about financial matters, adding that there was a complete breakdown and failure of table management and system of appointing agents at polling centres on voting day.
Concluding her letter, the Congress leader proposed and suggested, "A strong disciplinary action be taken against Sandesh Kondwilkar and Bhushan Patil forthwith and changes be made at orgsational level with immediate effect to ensure a better and brighter future for the orgsation."
Matondkar, who contested her debut election from Mumbai North constituency, lost to BJP leader Gopal Shetty by 4,65,000 votes.
The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had trounced the Congress in Mumbai, bagging all the six seats.
( With inputs from ANI )