Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers stormed the Maharashtra Congress state office in South Mumbai on Tuesday to demand an apology for a social-media remark [1, 2].
The incident highlights escalating tensions between political factions in Maharashtra, where linguistic jabs and social-media posts are increasingly triggering physical confrontations between party cadres.
The protest followed a post by the Congress party that referred to Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar as a “gungi gudiya” [1, 2]. NCP members deemed the phrase abusive and marched on the state office in South Mumbai to demand a public apology from party leadership [1, 2].
Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar defended the language used in the post. "Gungi Gudiya is not an abuse," Wadettiwar said [1].
However, the remark drew criticism from within the Congress party itself. Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said such remarks about women should be avoided [3].
The BJP and Mahayuti have also condemned the remark and called for restraint [2].
The confrontation comes amid broader political volatility in the region. While some reports suggest an internal rift within the NCP following the election of Sunetra Pawar as national president, other party officials, including Praful Patel, have denied that any such division exists [4, 5].
“"Gungi Gudiya is not an abuse."”
This clash underscores the volatile nature of Maharashtra's political climate, where the intersection of gendered political commentary and social-media amplification can rapidly escalate into street-level unrest. The divide within the Congress party's own response—ranging from defense to condemnation—reflects an internal struggle to balance aggressive political campaigning with standards of decorum regarding women in leadership.
