The BJP’s doors are always open for everybody who wishes to join the party, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Tuesday amid talk of state Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat resigning from his post. Thorat had sent his resignation along with the letter he had sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, sources confirmed to The Indian Express, where he made allegations of conspiracy against him, listing out how he was ‘humiliated’ by state Congress president Nana Patole and said that it won’t be possible to work with him.
The BJP’s doors are open for one and all. Balasaheb Thorat is a very big Congress leader and I am nobody to offer him to join the party. If someone willingly wants to join us, BJP’s doors are always open. Rest assured, the individual stature of those joining the BJP will not only be respected and retained but given greater importance and respect,” Bawankule said, addressing the media at party headquarters in Mumbai.
Thorat is the maternal uncle of Satyajeet Tambe, who recently contested the Legislative Council polls as an independent and won. The Congress had nominated Tambe’s father Sudhir but he did not contest.
Stating that the recent developments had exposed factionalism within Congress, Bawankule said, “It is the job of state president Nana Patole to reach out and resolve the problems. Even if a booth worker is unhappy or having any problem, I will immediately reach out and talk. Had it been the case in my party, I would have introspected to see why a committed leader of such stature was unhappy. What was the party’s failure? How can it be resolved?”
The reports of the senior Congress leader quitting the party in Maharashtra have been making rounds since morning with his ongoing tussle with state Congress chief Nana Patole, who termed it ‘dirty politics’ and said that he does not have time for such things.
“I have no time for all such issues. I am dedicated to taking the Congress ideology further to make it win in the public. I am not interested in such politics that people are doing. I am a farmer, a common man, who simply came to politics and learnt a lot. I have learnt a lot but will never do such dirty politics,” Nana Patole said addressing the media persons in Mumbai.
In other news, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Tuesday nominated local party leader Nana Kate as the party candidate for the Chinchwad Assembly seat in Maharashtra. The decision comes after party leader Ajit Pawar held a closed-door meeting with other leaders at a hotel in the Ravet area of Pimpri-Chinchwad on Monday. Today is the last day of filing nominations for the bypolls which is set to be held on February 26 this year.
On the incident, Maharashtra Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Monday said that Thorat gave emotional support to the audience and alleged that Sangamner taluka is being attacked like revenge after the change of power.
“Balasaheb Thorat said that he was sad by the ongoing politics, I want to ask him why he is sad because his party lost in the Nashik MLC elections or because he has no value in his own party (congress) now. Action will be taken against those indulging in wrong activities (Mafia and Sand Mafia).
