Following outburst against high command, Satyajeet Tambe’s chances of returning to Congress dim

“Before his press conference, it looked like he will be returning to the Congress…but now, can’t say anything,” State Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe told The Indian Express. In the same breath, Londhe however said, “nothing is impossible in politics.”

Another Congress leader said the allegations that Tambe levelled against the party’s leadership will go against him.

“He has sought BJP support for elections…done everything that will go against him. He should have returned to the party and started working as an associate member. Instead, he chose to target the leadership,” the Congress leader said.

At a press conference in Nashik on Saturday, Tambe said he has decided to not join any party but to remain as an Independent.

Displaying the nominations forms “signed by state Congress chief Nana Patole”, Tambe said, “It was a well-calculated, motivated conspiracy hatched internally against the Tambe and Thorat families. My father had informed Congress that I will contest the MLC election. When we received two AB forms in a sealed envelope, they were of Nagpur and Aurangabad teachers’ constituencies.”

Tambe alleged that upon informing the state Congress headquarters about the same, “we were sent another AB form with the name of my father (Sudhir Tambe)”. He, however, did not name any leader when asked to name the person who had hatched the “conspiracy”.

“Despite all this, I filed my nomination with Congress but as I was not given the required AB form, my candidature was termed as that of an Independent,” he said. Tambe alleged that after filing his nomination for Nashik, the high command in Delhi had asked him to write a letter seeking support and publicly apologise. “I was ready to do so and even wrote a letter to (party in-charge for Maharashtra) H K Patil on January 19. But the state unit had already extended support to another candidate and termed us (he and his father) as traitors and backstabbers,” he alleged.

Tambe claimed that workers of all opposition parties – including Congress, NCP, BJP, Shiv Sena, MNS, RPI and RSP – had supported him in the election.

On the Congress suspending him and his father, the MLC said they were not even served the show cause notice and were suspended directly. He also said he has never left the Congress party.

Congress spokesperson Londhe Saturday denied all the charges by Tambe. “The allegations that wrong forms were sent to Dr Sudhir Tambe are false. We have proof of it”.

Meanwhile, State BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule has urged Tambe to join the BJP. “He is a young leader and should join,” he said.