The majority of Congress leaders disagree with their Maharashtra chief Nana Patole’s hostile posturing on the alliance with the Shiv Sena and the NCP, arguing that the very purpose of weakening the BJP would be defeated if the incumbent Uddhav Thackeray government was destabilised.

While Maharashtra leaders are livid and have conveyed their sentiment to the high command, even central leaders have rejected Patole’s provocative statements, insisting that the task of strengthening the party organisation can be accomplished without getting into conflict with the government.

They say there is no plan to break away from the coalition government and Patole may have overreached himself by talking about contesting elections alone at this stage.

The relations of senior Maharashtra Congress leaders with Patole, who came from the BJP in 2018 and was appointed state unit chief in 2021, have got strained and most of them have started blaming Rahul Gandhi for “picking the wrong person”. They say Patole had failed to internalise the Congress culture and is making statements without evolving consensus within the organisation or getting approval from the central leadership.

A senior leader told The Telegraph from Mumbai: “We don’t support his contention of going alone. Sonia Gandhi took the difficult decision of joining a coalition that had the Shiv Sena in it after a thorough analysis of the pros and cons. The overriding objective was to weaken the BJP. Loss of government in Maharashtra was a severe jolt to Narendra Modi. This experiment will be rendered meaningless if we disturb the coalition now and allow the BJP to regain power. It is shocking that the tremors are being caused by us, not the Sena.”

While the Sena has accepted a secular agenda of governance and has done nothing to create any ideological crisis, the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government has generated much unease within the BJP.

Those who left the NCP and the Congress to join the BJP before the Assembly elections are desperate to return and the only factor that has prevented a major exodus from the BJP is the frequent doubts created about the stability of the Uddhav government. Senior Congress leaders wonder why should there be any attempt to strengthen the BJP before the 2024 elections in Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to Parliament.

“With huge losses expected in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh due to the farmers’ agitation and some setbacks in Rajasthan and Bihar, there is no way the BJP can come to power in 2024. But their return to power in Maharashtra can trigger a turnaround, placing the BJP on a path to recovery. Why Nana Patole doesn’t understand this is a mystery,” another Congress leader said.

Sources in the Maharashtra Congress said former chief minister Ashok Chavan and ex-state unit chief Balasaheb Thorat were angry with Patole’s posturing.

“Thorat once rebuked him (Patole) when he wanted to call a meeting of MLAs. Patole was bluntly told he cannot call a legislature party meeting and he should restrict himself to party affairs. What is worse, Patole’s conduct has generated distrust about Rahul Gandhi,” a source said.

NCP veteran Sharad Pawar has intervened to send out a message of discomfort with Patole’s statements. Pawar on Sunday said: “I don’t want to get into this duel. They are small people, why should I comment on them? If Congress president Sonia Gandhi had said something, I would have commented on it.”

At a Congress meeting on Saturday, Patole had said he was firm on his view that the party should fight future elections alone.

“Even chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has told Sena workers and leaders to prepare for polls on their own strength,” Patole had said.