Satyajeet Tambe on way to BJP

Mumbai: Though, in a public interview he has denied any chances of joining the BJP and said that he is happy as an independent MLC, sources have said that former state youth Congress chief Satyajeet Tambe is likely to join the BJP sometime soon.

Tambe faced expulsion from the Congress two years back when he rebelled against the party to file his nomination from the Nashik graduates’ constituency of the state legislative council. It was said that he would join the BJP someday when he won the election. The speculation got air after he showered praises on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his efficiency and leadership all the while criticizing the Congress leadership in Delhi as well as the state for the sorry state of affairs in the party.

Tambe, while replying to queries during a public interview organized by Sakal Media Group, complimented CM Fadnavis for his style of working and said he reminds former union minister and senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh.

“What any party worker wants from a leader that he should be a large hearted one and that he should be accessible. Fadnavis has both these qualities. If you go to him with any work he would do that immediately without even thinking of profit and loss. He is popular among all parties as a leader who gets you work done even on an SMS,” Tambe said adding that these qualities in him remind me of Vilasrao Deshmukh, who also used to be always ready with a helping hand.

Praising Fadnavis

While praising Fadnavis for his accessibility on one hand, Tambe criticized Rahul Gandhi for his inaccessibility. Stating that though the party is in trouble, the leaders are not accessible even to the state leadership. He challenged the state leadership of the Congress party to get an appointment with Rahul Gandhi and meet him at a short notice of one hour. Tambe narrate his own experience to blame the coterie of leaders around Gandhi for the current sorry state of affairs within the party.

“I tried meeting him while he was on the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab, but I couldn’t get any response. Later when the contact was established, I was summoned to Delhi. But, I was not allowed to meet him. After this happened a couple of times, I stopped the efforts. My father, who is a hard core Congress worker too wrote three letters. He too didn’t get any response,” Tambe said and added, “This shows that lack of accessibility is the biggest drawback of the Congress.”

Tambe also said that the Congress party doesn’t seem to have any future left in Indian politics. “They lack a clear political policy. It appears as if nobody in the party is seriously thinking about it and hence at times their stand appears to be anti-India stand,” he said.

On this backdrop, when he was asked whether he would be joining the BJP, he said, "I'm not very keen on that. There are leaders like Fadnavis, there are others who guide me in things like these. Whenever they would tell me, I shall do that. But as of now I'm an independent and I'm happy as an independent."