Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan joined the BJP on Tuesday, one day after quitting the Congress. Tuesday’s formal event was held in the Mumbai BJP office, where he was greeted by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. When Fadnavis spoke with Chavan earlier, the former Congress leader told him he was done wanting big posts because he had held several of them already and that he wanted to work with Narendra Modi on developing the people’s infrastructure. My goal in joining the BJP is to support Narendra Modi’s central government’s development efforts.
After 38 arduous years in politics, I’m starting a new chapter in my life, stated Ashok Chavan. Ashok Chavan made his remarks in the midst of rumors that the BJP was nominating him for the Rajya Sabha. There were also rumors that Ashok Chavan had to rush into the BJP a day after quitting the Congress due to the nomination filing deadline.
The departure of Ashok Chavan prior to the Lok Sabha election is a serious setback for the Congress, which has already lost important and powerful figures to rivals like Baba Siddique and Milind Deora. Baba Siddique joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, while Milind Deora joined the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena.
Reacting to Ashok Chavan’s resignation, prominent Muslim leader in Mumbai Baba Siddique said the Congress needs to wake up. Baba Siddique reported that while he was quitting the party, Ashok Chavan called him. I told Ashok Chavan over the phone that he would be meeting up soon to continue our journey. More people will depart because people look for ways to escape when they feel suffocated. According to Baba Siddique, it is a wake-up call for Congress, but I don’t think they will heed it. The recently appointed leader of the NCP took aim at the Congress, where he worked for many years, claiming that the party only used him as flavoring.
After meeting speaker Rahul Narwekar, Chavan, who serves the Bhokar assembly segment in Nanded in the assembly, announced his resignation from the assembly on X, formerly Twitter. I have submitted my resignation as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing the 85-Bhokar Assembly Constituency to Assembly Speaker Rahulji Narvekar on Monday, February 12, 2024, according to Chavan.
With the resignations of Milind Deora and Baba Siddique during the past month, Ashok Chavan is the third well-known Congress leader in the state.
Following the announcement of Chavan’s resignation, deputy chief minister and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Devendra Fadnavis, announced that a number of well-known figures from other political parties would be joining the BJP. There is a strong desire among the leaders of other parties to join the BJP.
