Voting underway, but Independent Satyajeet Tambe claims ‘victory’ in Nashik MLC poll; BJP woos him
Even as polling for five MLC seats are underway at different places in Maharashtra, in Nashik – where the contest has generated much heat – Independent candidate Satyajeet Tambe has claimed victory over Shubhangi Patil, the candidate backed by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). At the same time, the BJP offered Tambe a chance to join the party to “respect the support it extended to him” in the constituency.
“I will win the seat for sure… But I am waiting eagerly to find out the margin of victory,” Tambe told reporters in Nashik Monday. The counting of votes for all five seats, including Nashik, will take place on February 2, Thursday.
Tambe said he had drawn wide support from all five districts which are part of the Nashik graduates’ constituency. “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,” he said.
Though he was contesting as an Independent, Tambe claimed that he had filed his nomination form as a Congress candidate. “It is only because the AB form came late and it could not be filed with the election office that I became an Independent candidate,” he said. Satyajeet Tambe was, however, suspended by the party after he filed the nomination as an Independent candidate. His father Sudhir Tambe had withdrawn from the election at the last minute though he was given the party ticket by the Congress.
Satyajeet Tambe reiterated that half-truths were being spread about him and he will clear all doubts at an appropriate time. “In the last 15 days or so, a lot of mudslinging has taken place against my family… Half-truths are being spread all over. I will speak in detail about the entire episode at an appropriate time, which will take everyone by surprise,” he said.
On the silence maintained by his uncle and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, Tambe said, “He (Thorat) is recuperating after a shoulder injury. He has been advised bed rest for six weeks and is in hospital.”
BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said Satyajeet Tambe’s victory was a foregone conclusion. In the same breath, he urged Tambe to join the saffron party after his victory. “Local BJP workers and leaders had taken a decision to support Tambe. And therefore he should show respect to BJP workers and leaders by joining the party,” Vikhe-Patil asserted.
However, Tambe underlined that he was an Independent candidate. “I am an Independent candidate and will remain so even after my victory,” he said.
