Maharashtra: Accusing party of ignoring him for plum posts, former Congress MLA Sangram Thopte to join BJP

Thopte belongs to a politically influential family. His father Anantrao Thopte was a Congress MLA for six terms.

Thopte said his supportes were of the view that BJP was in power in the state and at the Centre. “I had earlier made it clear that I will take a decision based on what my supporters think. My supporters think that if we have to push development works in my constituency, I will have to join the BJP. Hence, I have decided to join the BJP on April 22 in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other leaders in Mumbai,” he said.

Mincing no words in blaming the Congress, the former MLA said, ”The Congresss has forced me to leave the party. I was first elected from Bhor seat in 2009. I was a rookie at the time. As a first time elected MLA, I put in my best efforts in the state assembly. In 2014, I was again elected as an MLA. At that moment, we were in the Opposition. In 2019, I was given another opportunity by the people. During the period, no one thought that the MVA government will come to power but it happened suddenly.”

Talking about how the Congress got 12 ministries during the MVA’s tenure, Thopte said, “In view of my experience, I thought I would be given the ministerial position but I missed the opportunity. Then, Nana Patole resigned as the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker. I thought I would be given the opportunity but again that did not happen…I was ignored even for the post of the Opposition leader,” he said.

Thopte said he lost the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections as the Congress failed to rally for him. ”During the 2024 assembly elections, I had urged the party leaders to hold a rally but no one turned up. I lost the elections. After the loss, no Congress leader bothered to even call me and speak to me. The Congress has been doing this since 2019,” he said.

In its defence, the Maharashtra Congress said it made all efforts to stop Thopte from leaving the party. ”Maharashtra Congress chief Harshavardhan Sapkar and senior leader Balasaheb Thorat called him up and urged him not to leave the party. But he seemed to have made up his mind. We wanted him to stay put as the Thoptes have been loyal to the party for years. It is unfortunate that Sangram has taken such a decision,” Atul Londhe, spokesperson of Maharashtra Congress, told The Indian Express.

Londhe said the MPCC chief wanted to visit Bhor and convince Thopte. ”But he was not even responding to the calls,” he said.

A top Congress leader said, “The real reason behind Thopte’s exit from the party is the financial problem faced by his sugar factory. His factory is in trouble and he is not getting assistance from the Centre. The BJP wants him to leave Congress if wants any kind of help.”

In July last year, the National Cooperative Development Corporation rejected a Rs 80 crore loan for Thopte’s Rajgad sugar coperative factory. The then Mahayuti government was upset with Thopte as he did not support its candidate in the Lok Sabha elections, said the Congress leader.

Congress leader Ramesh Iyer said Thopte’s father Anantrao missed on becoming the Chief Minister. ”Anantrao Thopte had been winning from the Bhor seat continuously. However, he lost once in 1999. Had he won then, he would have become the Chief Minister and not Vilasrao Deshmukh,” he said.

Iyer said BJP has roped in Sangram Thopte to increase its base and strength in Bhor area. ”The BJP does not have strong leaders in rural Pune. Ajit Pawar’s NCP dominates the rural areas. To put NCP in a corner, BJP is trying to increase its strenght in Pune district. It currenly has only one strong leader in Rahul Kul, who is an MLA from Daund. After Bhor, BJP might concentrate in Purandar area,” he said.