4 min readPuneFeb 9, 2023 04:53 PM IST
First published on: Feb 9, 2023 at 07:15 AM IST
Satyajeet Tambe is the latest son from Ahmednagar whose political ambition has rocked the Congress’s boat. Back in 2019, it was the ambition of another son, Dr Sujay Vikhe-Patil, that saw senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil leave the Congress and join the BJP. As intense firefighting continues to douse the flames of rebellion lit by Tambe and his uncle, former revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, the focus once again shifts to the peculiar politics of Ahmednagar — the district which invariably values the person more than the party or ideology.
Political analyst Chandrakant Bhujbal said the district, which had seen the setting up of the first cooperative sugar mill, was peculiar in many ways. Perhaps in no other district of Maharashtra is political leadership controlled by a handful of people, who although being political opponents, are related to each other by marriage or other ties. Also, Ahmednagar, he pointed out, was unique, as almost all senior political leaders of the state have extremely close family relations in the district. Thus senior NCP leader Jayant Patil’s nephew Prajakt Tanpure is the sitting MLA from the Rahuri constituency. Ahmednagar is also the birth place of NCP leader Ajit Pawar, while Rohit Pawar the NCP MLA from Karjat Jamkhed, is Ajit’s nephew.
Ahmednagar’s politics is mainly controlled by the Vikhe-Patils and the Thorats. India’s first cooperative sugar mill was founded in Pravaranagar by VItthalrao Vikhe-Patil. While the Vikhe-Patil family has switched sides multiple times, at present, both Radhakrishna and his son Dr Sujay are with the BJP. The senior Vikhe-Patil in fact was the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly when his son had rebelled and joined BJP before the 2019 elections. The rift between the Vikhe-Patil family and Congress had stemmed from Dr Sujay’s desire to contest the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat, which was with the NCP. Till the last moment, the Congress leadership had failed to convince the NCP to part with the seat, which lead to Dr Sujay joining the BJP. Subsequently, the senior Vikhe Patil too joined the BJP and, after the fall of the MVA government, is now a senior minister in the Shinde-Fadnavis government.
Balasaheb Thorat, the present leader of Congress in the state Assembly, on the other hand, has always been with the Congress. Tambe, while filing his nomination as an Independent in the recent MLC bypoll, had criticised the Congress leadership in Maharashtra for their failure to address what he said were his “just ambitions”. Now, Thorat, has now thrown in his resignation from the post of Leader of Congress in the house, training his guns against the state Congress leadership. BJP state president Chandrashekhar Babankhule has given a cautious welcome to “people who wish to join the BJP”, but given the strong animosity the Thorats have with the Vikhe-Patils, this looks unlikely.
Satyajeet Tambe, the newly elected MLC, is not Thorat’s only nephew in politics. However, unlike Tambe, they are with other parties. Thus, Rajeev Rajale, the husband of Monika Rajale, the BJP MLA from Shevgaoan Pathardi, is another nephew of Thorat.
The other political families in the district, like the Gadakhs, Ghule Patils, Jagtaps, Murkutes, et al, have switched sides between the Vikhe-Patil and Thorat groups. While they remain related through marriage, this has not prevented them from pitching their fortunes against each others. Thus, Sangram Jagtap, the NCP MLA from Ahmednagar City is married to the daughter of Shivajirao Kardile, the former BJP MLA from Rahuri constituency of the district. With close relations and links to the sugar sector, the politics of Ahmednagar is mostly a family matter.
Balasaheb Thorat, who quit from his post at CLP (left) and Satyajeet Tambe, who was suspended from the Congress party (Express File Photo/Facebook) 
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