Maha: Rahul Gandhi, Kharge to unveil Congress leader Patangrao Kadam’s statue in Sangli today
Sangli (Maharashtra): Cngress’ Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, along with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders will come together for several events here, giving a booster to the state unit ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, officials said here on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi will start his visit to Maharashtra by paying a condolence visit to the family of the sitting Congress MP from Nanded, the late Vasantrao Chavan, who died after a prolonged illness on August 27.
Later, he will go to Sangli and along with other leaders unveil a statue of the late Congress stalwart Patangrao Kadam — who died in March 2018 — and visit a museum dedicated in his memory at Wangi village.
After that, Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting at a women’s college in Kadegaon, said party officials.
During this visit, MVA allies like the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders are likely to remain present.
The event is expected to see the presence of All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Ramesh Chennithala, AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
Top leaders, including state Congress President Nana Patole, Leader of the Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress Legislature Party Leader Balasaheb Thorat, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, and others will also be present.
The late Patangrao Kadam (January 8, 1944-March 9, 2018) was an MLA from the Sangli district, had been a Minister in the erstwhile Democratic Front government comprising Congress and undivided NCP, and served as President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.
A highly respected leader, he was the founder of the deemed university Bharati Vidyapeeth, an educational empire headquartered in Pune, with branches all over India, besides being a big player in the state’s cooperative sector.
His statue will be inaugurated at the Sonhira Sugar Factory in Kadegaon, coinciding with Teacher’s Day on September 5.
Incidentally, Kadam’s son Vishwajeet Kadam is also a senior Congress leader and lords over the party in the Sangli district and surroundings.
Sangli has been a traditional Congress stronghold and in the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, the party was keen to contest it.