Maharashtra news: A day after quitting the Congress, a party he has been a part of for over 50 years, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party today, said his office on Tuesday.
Chavan resigned from the primary membership of the Congress party on Monday. He submitted his resignation to Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole.
“I have resigned from the Assembly membership as an MLA. I have given my resignation to the Speaker. I have resigned from the Congress Working Committee and the Congress primary membership,” Chavan said.
He is the third big name to desert the grand old party’s ship in Maharashtra. First to go was the former South Mumbai MP Milind Deora, followed by former MLA Baba Siddique.
According to a report, more MLAs and office bearers of Maharashtra Congress are also likely to follow the suit.
Congress leaders have condemned the move and have called it a ‘dirty political’ game.
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavhan said that Ashok Chavan’s resignation is a sad decision but it had been talked about for quite some time now.
“Our senior colleague Ashok Chavan has resigned from the party and also as the MLA. It’s a sad decision. This had been talked about for a long time. We didn’t think he would make this decision. He was made the state CM on two occasions. What went wrong, who was he upset about–only he will tell about this,” he said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had also jibed saying that the ‘washing machine’ of BJP is very powerful. “It is clear that the special washing machine functioning in our country is very powerful…The exit of some people doesn’t mean Congress will break…There is some sadness, but this won’t affect the party.”
In his time with the party, Ashok Chavan was the Vice President and General Secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress Committee from 1986 to 1995.
He served the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for three terms, starting in 1999 and ending in May 2014.
Chavan served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra State from December 8, 2008, to November 9, 2010. On November 9, 2010, the Congress Party asked him to resign from office over corruption allegations relating to the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
In the 2014 general elections, Chavan was elected from the Nanded constituency but lost the seat in 2019 Pratap Patil Chikhalikar of the BJP.
Chavan, who represents Bhokar, Nanded, as an MLA, was reported to have severe differences with state party chief Nana Patole.
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Published: 13 Feb 2024, 10:27 AM IST