Hundreds of office-bearers and workers from various organisations, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), and the Sambhaji Brigade, joined the Congress party at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai on Monday. The event was held under the leadership of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshwardhan Sapkal, who welcomed the new entrants into the Congress fold and extended his best wishes for their future work.
Also present at the event were All India Congress Committee Secretary Sachin Sawant, former legislator Anant Gadgil, Rajesh Sharma, SC Department state chief Siddharth Hattiambire, state general secretary Dhananjay Shinde, and Professor Prakash Sonawane, among others.
Addressing the gathering, Sapkal said that faith in Congress’s inclusive ideology and the reassuring leadership of Rahul Gandhi is growing day by day.
Only Congress can counter the forces of communalism in the country: Maharashtra Congress chief
“Only Congress can counter the forces of communalism in the country, which is why leaders and workers from different backgrounds and organisations are joining the party. The Congress ideology represents the people, the Constitution, the nation, saints, great leaders, world peace, and global brotherhood. This is the vision we must carry forward,” he said.
He contrasted Congress’s approach with the Hindutva ideology, saying it is based on division and domination, whereas Congress works for justice and unity. “On one hand, embrace the Congress ideology; on the other, take action and struggle to deliver justice to the common people,” Sapkal urged.
Speaking at the event, AICC Secretary Sachin Sawant said, “The BJP shows one face in public and a different one in practice. Today, communal ideas are being spread, social harmony is being disrupted, and economic inequality is rising. The government is working for only a handful of people while farmers, labourers, the poor, and the marginalised are being ignored. Congress is not separate from the people; it is aligned with their sentiments. Those who left Congress went for power; now, we must fight for the next generation.”
