Ashok Chavan quits Congress
Reportedly in talks with the Bhartiya Janata Party, former MP and chief minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan withdrew from the Congress’ primary membership, dealing a serious blow to the party months before the state and national elections. Sources claim that the senior leader might be granted a ticket to Rajya Sabha.
Second major party change in just two months
In the Assembly, Mr. Chavan represents Bhokar. He met Speaker Rahul Narvekar and submitted his resignation. In Maharashtra, if he joins BJP, it will be the second major party change after Congressman Milind Deora left the party last month to join the Shiv Sena, which is led by Eknath Shinde.
Earlier, BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had been asked if Mr. Chavan is joining the party. “I heard about Ashok Chavan from media. But only thing I can say now is that several good leaders from Congress are in touch of BJP. Those leaders who are connected with the masses are feeling suffocated in Congress. I am confident that some big faces will join Congress,” he had then said.
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Internal disputes in Congress
Congress insiders claim that Mr. Chavan’s decision to switch sides may have been significantly influenced by his disagreements with state party president Nana Patole on the choice of candidates.
Ashok Chavan, the son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan, is well-known in the Nanded area, and the Congress may suffer as a result of this move in the next elections. This is all taking place against the challenging electoral landscape that the Maha Vikas Aghadi faces, which is made up of the Congress, the NCP’s Sharad Pawar camp, and the Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction.
Political career of Ashok Chavan
Thus far, Ashok Chavan’s political career has been quite eventful. He began his career in the Congress as a student leader and rose to important positions such as chief of the Maharashtra Congress and member of the Congress Working Committee. He has been a member of both Houses of the state legislature and has represented Nanded as an MP twice.
Following his tenure as a state minister, he was selected to take over as chief minister following Vilasrao Deshmukh’s resignation following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Following the 2009 state votes, the Congress decided to keep him in the top position. The position was brief, though, as Mr. Chavan was compelled to resign due to accusations of corruption with the Adarsh Housing Society fraud
