Mumbai: Balasaheb Thorat, Nana Patole share stage after poll rift in Maharashtra Congress

After a public feud between its senior leader Balasaheb Thorat and State President Nana Patole, Maharashtra Congress on Wednesday tried to show that all is well within the party. It had a state executive meeting for the first time after legislative council elections.

Leaders and workers were expecting it to be stormy but nothing of that sort happened. This shows that the state leaders are trying to maintain decorum though the aggressive lobbying against each other's group is on in Delhi.

The gathering saw the presence of all senior leaders, including Balasaheb Thorat who recently resigned from the post of legislative party leader. During the meeting, Patole and Thorat not just shared the dias but were sitting next to each other and talking through the whole meeting.

Patole accuses BJP of trying to create rift

While trying to cover up the differences, Patole said that the BJP is creating a picture of rift between us. “The BJP lost four out of five seats. It lost in Nagpur and Amravati against Congress. So to hide that, BJP leaders are trying to create a picture of difference within us. But it is not true. Party is united and we will all go for campaigning in Kasaba and Chinchwad assembly bypolls,” he said.

But everyone was also aware that this bonhomie is just for the sake of photo-opportunity. Behind the scenes, all is certainly not well in both camps. Congress State Incharge HK Patil has reportedly spoken to a miffed Thorat. Sources are telling that Patil has asked Thorat to take back his resignation and the decision regarding removal of Patole will be taken after the party's national convention in Raipur later this month.

What happened between Thorat & Patole

Thorat and Patole came head-to-head during recently held legislative council elections. Thorat's nephew Satyajit Tambe had fought election as an independent candidate. His father Dr Sudhir Tambe was given Congress ticket but he didn't contest.

This has led to public embarrassment for Thorat as he is senior most leader and close to Congress high command. After the results of the election, Thorat tendered his resignation saying that he is 'pained to see the politics played to damage his and his family's reputation'. This was a clear attack on state chief Patole who later termed the affair as a 'family matter of Thorat'.