In an important development in Khandesh-North Maharashtra politics, Satyajeet Tambe won the polls from Nashik Division Graduates’ seat of Maharashtra Legislative Council on Friday.
The North Maharashtra region comprises Nashik, Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar districts and is a agriculture-rich region with Jalgaon being the ‘Banana Capital’, Lasalgaon being the ‘Onion Bowl’ and Nashik as the ‘Grapes Capital’. The region also has a good amount of sugarcane farming.
In the run up to the polls to five seats of the Upper House, the elections in Nashik were being keenly-watched.
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The 40-year-old Tambe is the son of Dr Sudhir Tambe, who is a three-time MLC from this seat. The Tambes are veterans of Ahmednagar sugar-belt politics.
The senior Tambe is the brother-in-law of veteran Congressman Balasaheb Thorat, the current Congress legislature party leader and eight-time MLA from Sangamner, who is a former Revenue Minister.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge cleared the name of Dr Tambe for the polls and gave the AB From to him, however, he fielded his son as an Independent.
While Dr Tambe was suspended by the AICC pending an inquiry, the junior Tambe was expelled by MPCC for six years.
While BJP leadership including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP President Chandrashekar Bawankule was guarded on openly extending support to Tambe, their party member Shubhangi Patil met Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and sought help.
Thackeray spoke to the Maha Vikas Aghadi leadership and extended support to her.
A promising youth leader, Tambe also has good relations with Fadnavis.
In the polls, Patil, however, lost - as a section of MVA as well as BJP had indirectly supported Tambe.
“I thank all the citizens of North Maharashtra, voters of Nashik Graduate Constituency, every organisation who supported me in this election, all political and social leaders and workers. I assure you all that, I will never let you down,” Tambe said.
However, when asked about BJP’s support, he said: “I don’t think that they had made any such announcement.” However, he added that if Congress would have helped things would have been easy for him.
It may be mentioned, state Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who is a veteran of Nagar politics and an arch-rival of Thorat, seemed to have helped the Tambes. Asked about this, he said: “People from all the 54 talukas of the region helped us.”
When asked if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi calls him and asks him to return, he said: “I cannot answer in ifs and buts.”
His father Dr Tambe said: “Satyajeet has good communication skills, he has a vision, he is educated and well informed, he will give his best.”
State Congress President Nana Patole when asked about Tambe’s win and fate, he said: “Its the party’s high command which takes calls on such issues.”
Leader of Opposition of NCP Ajit Pawar said that if the Congress should have looked at Tambe’s candidature positively this thing would not have arisen. “He had no option but to contest as an Independent,” he said, adding that NCP supremo Sharad Pawar also spoke to Kharge to give opportunity to the junior Tambe.