Council polls: Cong nominee opts out; son in fray as independent, BJP hints at support

In an embarrassment for the Congress ahead of biennial polls to the Maharashtra Legislative Council official party candidate Sudhir Tambe on Thursday announced withdrawal from the race and said his son will be in the fray from the constituency currently represented by himElections to graduates and teachers constituencies of the Council will be held on January 30 and Thursday was the last day for filing nominationsSudhir Tambe brotherinlaw of former state Congress president Balasaheb Thorat has been representing the Nashik Division Graduates constituency in the Upper House of the legislature for the last three terms 18 years and was renominated by the party from the seat for a fresh term Thorat an exminister is also the Congress Legislature Party CLP leaderAlso read Shiv Sena workers clashes Shot fired was from Sarvankars weapon say policeAnnouncing the withdrawal of his candidature the senior Tambe said his son Satyajit who is the state Youth Congress president will contest the polls as the party has decided to promote youths in politicsHowever on Thursday Satyajit Tambe filed his nomination as an independent and asserted he was still associated with the Congress even as he sought support from the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP which is part of the Eknath Shindeled coalition government in the stateYouths have been leading in various sectors and hence the party has decided to field a youth like Satyajit Tambe from the Nashik Graduates constituency Technical problem is that the party had given the AB nomination form in my name but we had already communicated to the leadership that Satyajit would be contesting the polls said the outgoing legislatorThe AB form indicates a partys official nominee in an electionThe party leadership was communicated well in advance about my decision to not contest polls We have taken this decision in good faith He Satyajit Tambe will contest as a candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA claimed Sudhir TambeThe MVA is the Opposition alliance consisting of the Congress the NCP and the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb ThackeraySpeaking to reporters Satyajit Tambe said iquestYou all know that state deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis a BJP leader has a lot of affection for me I wish the BJP votes for me in the electionsMy father Sudhir Tambe has worked tirelessly for many years to protect the interests of teachers and graduates in the Nashik division I wish to carry forward his work if I get a chance to become a member of the Legislative Counciliquest he saidAsked whether he intends to meet any state Congress leader ahead of voting he replied in the negativeI do not see any need to meet Congress leaders when I am still a part of the same party My expectation is that the BJP too should vote for me in the elections besides MVA allies said Satyajit TambeReacting to the development state Congress president Nana Patole said he will try to find out why Sudhir Tambe did not fill the AB form while MPCC general secretary Vinayak Deshmukh maintained the senior legislators action violated party discipline and sought a probe into the entire episodeTalking to PTI Deshmukh said I have spoken to the state Congress president Patole and former CMs Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan Sudhir Tambe a threetime MLC was the group leader of the party in the Council and basic protocol is expected from him The party has no problem if Satyajit Tambe contests but it should have been on a Congress ticket Now the party has no candidate on a seat it has represented for three termsDeshmukh who hails from Ahmednagar district which falls under the Nashik division slammed Sudhir TambeWhat Sudhir Tambe has done is a clear violation of party discipline and invites disciplinary action I have demanded an inquiry into the entire episode and action against the guilty he said The state BJP said it may consider supporting the junior TambeResponding to a query state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said If Tambe approaches us and seeks our support we can consider it The BJP is trying to strengthen its base in all parts of the state We do not have a strong face in the Nashik division hence we may extend our support to himIn politics one plus one need not have to be two but it can be 11 the BJP leader quipped without elaboratingThe term of five members of the Legislative Council two from Graduates and three from Teachers constituencies is ending on February 7 Biennial polls to fill the soon to be vacant seats will take place on January 30 while votes will be counted on February 2Teachers and graduates enrolled as electors are eligible to vote in these electionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever