In a major setback for the Congress, months before the national and state elections, former MP and chief minister Ashok Chavan resigned from the party’s primary membership over rumors that he was having discussions with the BJP. There are rumors that the senior leader would be given a Rajya Sabha ticket.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Chavan said he has not taken any decision yet on joining another party. “I will take a decision in the next couple of days. I have not spoken to any party yet.” The senior leader, however, suggested that he was upset over the delay in finalising seat-sharing within the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with just months left for the polls.
Presenting his resignation, Mr. Chavan, the Assembly member for Bhokar, met with Speaker Rahul Narvekar. Once Congress leader Milind Deora left the party last month to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, if he joins the BJP, it will be the second major party change in Maharashtra.
Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP leader and deputy chief minister, was previously questioned about Mr. Chavan’s potential party membership. “The media informed me about Ashok Chavan. All I can say at this point, though, is that BJP has contact with a number of excellent Congress leaders. Congress is stifling those leaders who have a connection to the people. At that point, he had declared, “I am sure that some well-known faces will join 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.
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 legislature and has twice served as an MP from Nanded.
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.
Senior Congressman Jairam Ramesh responded to Mr. Chavan’s decision with a “washing machine” jab. The Congress frequently accuses the BJP of delaying criminal investigations against opposition lawmakers who defect to their side.
When friends and colleagues leave a political party that has given them much—perhaps much more they deserved—it is always a matter of anguish. But to those who are vulnerable, THAT Washing Machine will always prove more attractive than ideological commitment or personal…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 12, 2024
