Balasaheb Thorat resigns as Maharashtra Congress legislature party chief

Thorat alleged that Nana Patole deliberately fielded his father Sudhir Tambe, instead of Satyajeet even though both father-son duo conveyed to the party that Satyajeet was interested in contesting the elections.

Expressing his inability to work with Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat on Tuesday resigned as Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader and accused Patole of sabotaging the candidature of his nephew Satyajeet Tambe in the legislative council election.

Balasaheb Thorat, who represents the Sangamner constituency in Ahmednagar district, sent his resignation to the Congress high command on February 2 (HT Photo)

Tambe recently won the legislative council election from the Nashik division graduates constituency as an independent candidate, the results of which were announced on February 2.

Thorat, who represents the Sangamner constituency in Ahmednagar district, sent his resignation to the Congress high command on February 2, according to party sources.

Thorat was appointed as CLP leader in June 2019 after then-opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the assembly elections. The same year in July, Thorat was also appointed as Maharashtra Congress president. Till February 2021 when Patole replaced him, Thorat held three key positions in Maharashtra, including state Congress chief, CLP leader and revenue minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Thorat had a showdown with Patole over the candidature of his nephew Satyajeet Tambe in the recently concluded legislative council elections.

Thorat alleged that Patole deliberately fielded his father Sudhir Tambe, instead of Satyajeet even though both father-son duo conveyed to the party that Satyajeet was interested in contesting the elections.

Immediately after Satyajeet filed his nomination as an independent, Patole got the father-son duo suspended from the party, according to Thorat and Satyajeet.

According to people close to Thorat, after Satyajeet was elected as an independent, Thorat sent a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge narrating the entire episode and reportedly said that “he won’t continue to work as CLP leader as long as Patole remains at the helm of affairs in state Congress.”

“He will continue to work for the party and is ready to accept any responsibility at a later stage,” said a Congress insider close to Thorat.

Patole, however, has denied having any information on Thorat’s resignation. “I have not received his resignation. He is not in touch because he is not well (recovering from joint fractures in the right shoulder),” he said.

Patole has also called an executive committee meeting to discuss issues and decide the party’s strategy for the upcoming polls on February 15.

Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of Maharashtra HK Patil, who was in Karnataka, left for Delhi to discuss the matter with the party leadership. “I have no idea that Balasaheb Thorat has resigned as CLP leader. I am heading to Delhi and will brief the leadership on the issue,” he told reporters.

According to a senior party leader, the party’s top brass is currently not in the mood to remove Patole who comes from the Kunbi community in the Vidarbha region. Congress’ revival in Maharashtra largely depends on its revival in Vidarbha, which was once its stronghold and the Kunbi community could play an important role in it. Since the 2019 elections, there are indications that Kunbis are unhappy with BJP and are returning to Congress.

“In such a situation, the party leadership will have to weigh the pros and cons before removing Patole from the post. Besides, the opinion of other senior leaders such as former chief ministers Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde would be important. So far none of them has supported Thorat’s demand for removal of Patole,” said a senior party leader.

Thorat, 70, who is an eight-term MLA from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district, is a prominent name among the politicians from Maharashtra’s sugar belt spread between western and northern parts of the state.

Son of a freedom fighter and Congress leader late Bhausaheb Thorat, he was first elected as an independent when the party denied the ticket but later returned to Congress. He was first made a minister in Congress- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance government that came to power in 1999 after which his career saw phenomenal growth.

He was one of the key people in Congress who handled the Gujarat assembly elections in 2017 and was appointed as Maharashtra Congress chief in 2019.