Ashok Chavan Resigns: In Maharashtra, Congress has been dealt a major blow before the Lok Sabha elections. Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has resigned from the Congress. Additionally, he has also resigned from his MLA position. Chavan may now join the BJP.
At present, along with Ashok Chavan, there are also 2 to 4 Congress MLAs who are likely to join the BJP. Congress municipal councilors may also join the BJP. The BJP may send Ashok Chavan to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra.
Before Ashok Chavan’s resignation, Milind Deora and Baba Siddiqui had also resigned from the Congress. Siddiqui has joined the NCP led by Ajit Pawar. Meanwhile, Deora has joined the Shiv Sena.
Why Leave Congress?
According to sources, Ashok Chavan was unhappy with Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole. Sources revealed that he was asked by the party to contest the Lok Sabha elections, which he refused. He cited the growing wave of the BJP.
Ashok Chavan was also unhappy with Nana Patole resigning from the position of Assembly Speaker, believing that it led to the downfall of the Maharashtra government. Sources mentioned that Ashok Chavan had asked the party high command to remove Nana Patole from the Speaker’s position and appoint him as the Maharashtra Congress President.
Amid Ashok Chavan’s resignation, Nana Patole has left for Delhi.
Ashok Chavan served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2008 to 2010. His father, Shankarrao Chavan, also served as the CM of Maharashtra. Chavan was the President of Maharashtra Congress from 2015 to 2019. He was first elected as a Lok Sabha MP in 1987. He was MLA three times from 1999 to 2014. He was re-elected as an MP in 2014.
Political Journey
Speaking of Ashok Chavan’s political journey, he also served in Vilasrao Deshmukh’s government as Minister of Culture, Industries, Mining, and Protocol. He became an MLA from the Bhokar constituency in Nanded district in 2019. He served as an MP twice and MLA four times. He also fulfilled the responsibilities of Maharashtra Congress President from 2015 to 2019. He was elected as an MP for the first time in 1987 and re-elected in 2014. Additionally, he was once a member of the Legislative Council.
Close to Rahul Gandhi
The former CM of Maharashtra was considered close to Rahul Gandhi. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when Congress faced defeat, he said that the defeat was a collective responsibility of the party. It wasn’t solely Rahul Gandhi’s responsibility. Besides Ashok Chavan, good tuning was also acknowledged with Vilasrao Deshmukh. During his tenure, Ashok Chavan held several important ministries.