Manikrao Thakre named as state Congress chief

MUMBAI: In view of the elections to the Lok Sabha and state assembly, the Congress high command has attempted caste combinations in making key organisational appointments. The party on Thursday decided to appoint Manikrao Thakre, a Kunabi Maratha, Jayantrao Awle, a Dalit and the Hindi-speaking Kripa Shankar Singh as state unit president, executive president, and Mumbai chief respectively. An official announcement about these appointments is expected shortly.

ET had reported these appointments on June 30. Mr Thakre���s appointment is being perceived as a crucial victory for Mr Deshmukh who had strained relations with former MPCC chief Prabha Rau. She was recently moved to Himachal Pradesh as the governor.

Mr Thakre, a Kunabi Maratha from Vidarbha, will have Mr Awale as executive president. Mr Thakre, who hails from Yavatmal district, was a minister of state for home in the previous Vilasrao Deshmukh government. Mr Awle, who comes from Kolhapur, was earlier minister for social welfare.

While the appointment of Mr Thakre and Mr Awle is in keeping with the Congress tradition of reaching out to the two major caste blocks in the state, Mr Kripa Shankar Singh���s elevation as Mumbai Congress chief assumes a greater significance in the current political context.

���Mr Singh, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh, has been given Mumbai���s responsibility to woo the city���s Hindi-speaking constituency. His appointment also means the party has taken a serious view of the agitation launched by Raj Thackeray against migrants,��� party sources said.

A senior functionary, however, sounded a note of caution, saying Mr Singh���s appointment could also lead to a sharp polarisation between the locals and the migrants, in the process helping the Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray. ���It���s a calculated move that the party bosses have made. It may work, it may not,��� the leader said.