The Congress was taken for a ride by its Nashik candidate for the upcoming legislative council elections. A three-term MLC from the graduates’ constituency, Dr Sudhir Tambe, who was cleared by the party high command on Wednesday, did not file his nomination on Thursday. He did this to facilitate candidacy for his son, Satyajeet Tambe, who ultimately set himself up as an independent on the last day of nomination. To add to the embarrassment, Satyajeet sought the Bharatiya Janata Party’s support to win, among other parties, including the Congress.

The father-son maintained that they were still part of the Congress, the party they have been working for. Satyajeet is the ex-president of the state youth Congress and was seeking a poll ticket. The development proved to be a setback for the party’s senior most MLA, ex-minister, leader of the legislative party and a hard-core Gandhi family loyalist, Balasaheb Thorat, who is also Satyajeet’s maternal uncle. Though Satyajeet was considered a political heir to his uncle earlier, the political dynamics of the extended family changed recently as Thorat’s children are tipped to be his flag bearers.