A May 16 letter by Bollywood actress-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar, now allegedly leaked to the media, has exposed a simmering feud in the faction-ridden Mumbai Congress and led to its top leaders attacking each other publicly here yesterday.
“After making a multilingual appeal to the workers not to quarrel against each other, the ‘young dynast’ has planted this news to ‘stabilise’ the party. The letter was written to him on May 16 and was leaked to media on Monday. Has he learned all this from his ‘mentor’ (Arun) Jaitley?” former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said in a sarcastic tweet, ostensibly directed at party colleague Milind Deora.
Deora’s reaction was characteristically cool as he sought to downplay the issue, saying “the Congress party has seen many upheavals and shall overcome this one too”.
“Some unpleasant and unwarranted commentary from certain quarters should be ignored and not countered,” urged Deora, who abruptly quit as Mumbai party unit chief on Sunday, barely four months after his appointment to the prestigious post.
Trapped in the sudden cross-fire over her “leaked” letter, Matondkar, who had unsuccessfully contested as Congress candidate from Mumbai north in the recent Lok Sabha polls, yesterday said that “it was extremely unfortunate that a confidential letter containing privileged communication should be made public”.
“I have addressed the letter at the behest of the Mumbai (Congress) president with the sole intention to bring about betterment in the party. It is extremely significant to note and I wish to highlight that this letter was written way before the elections results or even the exit polls, thus showing only my integrity, sincerity and commitment to party interest,” she said in a statement.
In her letter, the actress had reportedly pointed fingers at two of Nirupam’s aides - Sandesh Kondvilkar and Bhushan Patil  - accusing them of “total lack of co-ordination, honesty and efficiency, ensuring a disastrous outcome” in the elections.
She charged Kondvilkar of calling up her family demanding money for the campaign, advising them to ask Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel for funds, besides the party failing to mobilise grassroots workers, lack of local level co-ordination and not providing her resources for canvassing.
Seeking disciplinary action against the Patil-Kondvilkar duo, Matondkar also appealed for organisational level changes to improve the party’s prospects in future elections.
A senior party leader, not wishing to be identified, said it was “strange” that the letter should have been “leaked” immediately after Deora’s resignation and his recommendation for a three-member panel for the Mumbai Congress, which has been criticised by many, including Nirupam.
The Mumbai Congress has been ridden with factionalism since nearly four decades, even during the tenures of two former Union ministers - Gurudas Kamat and Murli Deora - besides the so-called north-Indian lobby versus people from the state.