Nana Patole – A Turbulent Political Career

Nana Patole, the current Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president, is a prominent OBC leader who was first elected as an MLA on the Congress ticket from the Lakhandur (renamed as Sakoli in 2009) Assembly constituency in 1999. Despite being the ruling party’s MLA, he was one of the vocal MLAs who at times used to slam his own government on farmer-related issues. In 2009, he contested the Lok Sabha election as an Independent against NCP leader Praful Patel. Patole then joined the BJP and contested the Assembly poll from Sakoli on its ticket and won. In 2014, Patole contested from Bhandara-Gondia on the BJP’s ticket and this time defeated Patel. However, he soon quit the BJP and returned to the Congress in 2017. After Uddhav Thackery-led Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP joined hands to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Patole was elected as the Assembly Speaker. His brief stint as the Speaker was eventful. Following his resignation, he was appointed as the state Congress chief. During his stint as the MPCC chief, Patole has been criticised for his “unilateral” and “autocratic” way of functioning. Recently, his decision to rope in BJP leader Chhotu Bhoyar for the Nagpur local body MLC election against state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and not consulting senior leaders before naming the party office-bearers or holding meetings, have been criticised.