Apart from Congress BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP also do not have their permanent offices in the temple town Nearly eight decades after India attained independence, the country’s oldest political party, the Indian National Congress — which led the freedom movement — still does not have a permanent office in Ramtek city.

 

Party workers continue to meet at temporary locations for discussions and take organisational decisions. It is significant that Ramtek has contributed several leaders of national and state prominence to Indian politics. However, despite the legacy, none of the elected representatives have taken initiative to establish a permanent party office in city. In 1984, late P V Narasimha Rao was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Ramtek constituency on a Congress ticket and went on to become the Prime Minister of India.

 

After the Emergency, when the Congress suffered a nationwide setback, late Jatiram Barve of Ramtek managed to win the Lok Sabha seat through the dedicated efforts of local Congress workers. Similarly, in 1980, late Advocate Madhukarrao Kimmatkar was elected as the MLA from Ramtek and later served as a Minister of State in Maharashtra. Despite Ramtek producing leaders who rose to such high positions, the Congress party continues to lack a permanent office for its local cadre — a matter that many workers find disheartening.

 

About two decades ago, the Tehsil Congress Committee functioned from a room provided by the Bhonsala Devasthan Committee in Ramaleshwar Ward. The office was later closed. Between 2005 and 2014, it operated from the residence of former Union Minister Subodh Mohite. After Mohite sold his residence, there was no party office until 2019, and meetings were held in rented halls or community centres such as the Fishermen’s Hall.

 

In 2019, when former minister Rajendra Mulak decided to contest the Assembly elections from Ramtek, he purchased a house near the Tehsil office, which has since been used as the Congress meeting venue. Interestingly, lack of a dedicated office is not unique to the Congress. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction), and both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar groups) also do not have official premises in Ramtek.

 

For several years, BJP meetings have been held at the Gandhi Chowk office of former MLA D. Mallikarjun Reddy, while the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) continues to operate from the office of State Minister Adv Ashish Jaiswal, as it did when the party was undivided in 1999. Meanwhile, the two NCP factions, having a limited presence in the area, hold their meetings only occasionally at different venues.