As polling for five MLC seats ended on Monday, in Nashik, where the contest has generated much heat, independent candidate Satyajeet Tambe has claimed victory over Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)-backed Shubhangi Patil. Meanwhile, after days of speculation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finally made an offer to Tambe to join the party even as the latter maintained that he was an independent candidate “and will remain so”.
Tambe told reporters in Nashik:“I will win the seat for sure…but I am eagerly waiting to find out the margin of victory.”
The counting of votes for all seats will take place on Thursday.
Nashik constituency registered 49.28 per cent voting while Konkan, at 91 per cent, saw the highest turnout.
“At least 100 organisations and all political parties have extended support to me. Our family has a strong connection with the people of the constituency and therefore, they have turned out in big numbers to vote for me,” Tambe said.
Tambe said though he was contesting as an independent candidate, he had filed his nomination form as a Congress candidate. “It is only because the AB form came late…that I became an independent candidate,” he said. His father Sudhir Tambe had withdrawn from the fray even though he was nominated by the Congress and was also given the party ticket.
Tambe reiterated that “half-truths” were being spread about him.
“In the last 15 days or so, lot of mudslinging has taken place…Half- truths are being spread all over by some Congress leader. I will speak in detail about the entire episode at an appropriate time which will take everyone by suprise,” he said.
Regarding the “silence” maintained by his uncle and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, Tambe said, “He (Thorat) is recuperating after injuring his shoulder. He has been advised bed rest for six weeks and is in hospital.”
BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said Tambe’s victory was a forgone conclusion. “Local BJP workers and leaders had taken a decision to support Tambe. And therefore, he should show respect to them by joining the party,” Vikhe-Patil said.
However, Tambe said, “I am an independent candidate and will remain so even after my victory,” he said.
Tambe had earlier sought support from the BJP but it refused to do so openly in view of the protest that he, as Youth Congress president, held against rising prices in 2018 during which he blackened a poster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sudhir Tambe expressed confidence that his son would emerge victorious. “I had won last time with a margin of 42,000 votes. The voters from Nashik graduates constituency had elected me thrice. The voters here are knowledgeable, talented and conscientious. I am sure they will also throw their lot behind Satyajeet who is also talented and a visionary leader. He is among the young talented leaders of Maharashtra,” he said after casting his vote in Sangamner area.
Meanwhile, Patil who visited a polling booth in Sangamner faced objections from the polling officer after she was seen moving around with folded hands. “I am used to going around with folded hands…I was not campaigning,” she told reporters.
At the polling centre, Patil came face to face with the wife of Satyajeet Tambe, Maithili. Both the women greeted each other and shared a cup of tea outside.
