Cong leadership intervenes to resolve dispute between Wadettiwar and Dhanorkar

Mumbai: The Congress leadership on Saturday intervened to resolve the ongoing conflict between Vijay Wadettiwar, leader of the opposition and Pratibha Dhanorkar, member of Parliament from Chandrapur Lok Sabha constituency.
KC Venugopal, general secretary is said to have asked them to work together by putting their past behind. The meeting was held in New Delhi where both the leaders were called.
“Both the leaders were asked to ensure that the issue should not be stretched anymore. Dhanorkar was also asked to be careful before making a statement,” said a Congress insider, wishing to remain anonymous.
The infighting between the leaders had to come to the fore when Dhanorkar in a program held in Brahmapuri assembly constituency last Sunday called for the removal of minority rule from the constituency by electing a Kunbi candidate irrespective of the party affiliation. The remarks were seen as an indirect appeal to defeat Wadettiwar, who comes from the OBC community and is in the minority in terms of population in the Brahmapuri assembly constituency.
The tensions between Wadettiwar and Dhanorkar intensified following the death of Dhanorkar’s husband, Balu Dhanorkar, who was a sitting MP from Chandrapur. During the polls, Wadettiwar pushed his daughter Shivani’s name for the candidature from the Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat. However, the party chose Pratibha over Shivani and the latter was also elected from the seat fueling the existing animosities.
“This is a request to everyone attending this program, regardless of their political affiliations — whether from Shiv Sena, NCP, BJP, or Congress. Let us focus on ensuring the victory of a candidate from our community by going beyond party lines,” Dhanorkar emphasised. After this, Wadettiwar filed a complaint against her with the party leadership.