Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Nana Patole on Thursday relinquished his post amidst the possibility of his appointment as the new Congress president of the state.

While the majority of Congress leaders in Maharashtra are opposed to Patole’s appointment as state unit chief because he came from the BJP only three years ago in 2018, both allies NCP and Shiv Sena have not appreciated the manner in which the Speaker was made to resign without any consultation.

The announcement of a new president in place of Balasaheb Thorat, who has become a minister, is expected anytime now.

Sena sources told The Telegraph that chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had also expressed displeasure when Congress leaders, including Patole, called on him on Thursday afternoon.

It is learnt that Thackeray wondered if it was politically wise to force the election of a new Speaker at this stage when the BJP was desperately looking for an opportunity to destabilise the government. He also said Ahmed Patel used to discuss these important issues in advance but now nobody in the Congress cared to consult.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said in Delhi that the Speaker’s post was open now and the Congress might not get it again.

A senior Congress leader told this newspaper over the phone from Mumbai: “There is no denying the fact that there was strong opposition to Patole’ choice because he has come from the BJP and does not have any hold on the Congress organisation. We know Rahul Gandhi has bulldozed all reservations and appointed him. Now Patole is unlikely to get cooperation from senior leaders. Even party workers have this feeling that Rahul Gandhi talks about not giving priority to outsiders but actually does the opposite.”

Another leader expressed “anguish and disappointment”, arguing that those close to Rahul were not giving the right feedback to him and insisted that the dominant sentiment among state leaders was known to general secretary in-charge H.K. Patil.

“We are already the fourth party in the ranking, much behind the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP. This was the time to consolidate our position but most of the energies will now be spent in managing internal dissent and discontent. In the quest of bringing in new faces, what the central leadership is doing is destroying the established leadership.”

There is a possibility of some working presidents also being appointed to do caste balancing. While Patole is a Kunbi, other segments like Marathas, Dalits and Muslims will also be represented in the leadership structure.