Nana Patole resigned from his position as the Maharashtra Congress Chief following a historic loss for the party in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. Congress secured only 16 out of 103 seats it contested, marking its worst-ever performance in the state. Patole, who narrowly won his own seat in Sakoli with just a 208-vote margin, faced significant backlash for the party’s failure to make a dent in the state’s political landscape, as the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition dominated with 232 seats.

Patole had taken over the Congress reins in 2021, after replacing Balasaheb Thorat. Under his leadership, the party experienced a remarkable win in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where it claimed 13 out of 17 contested seats. However, internal strife over seat-sharing agreements with allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP weakened the party’s position. Patole’s claims that Congress would lead the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in case of a victory only exacerbated tensions, especially with Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut.

In response to the unexpected defeat, Congress officials, including General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, voiced concerns over a “disturbed” election process and vowed to conduct a detailed analysis of the party’s poor showing. The leadership’s focus will now shift toward rebuilding the party and reassessing its alliances in an increasingly polarized political environment.