Ashok Chavan, Former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Resigns from Congress Amid Political Turmoil

Ashok Chavan, Former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Resigns from Congress Amid Political Turmoil

Months before the Lok Sabha and state elections, the Congress suffered yet another blow when former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan announced his resignation on Monday. According to reports, Ashok Chavan is considering joining the BJP.Ashok Chavan, former Maharashtra chief minister, resigned from the Congress on Monday, in yet another setback to the party’s Maharashtra unit months – before the Lok Sabha elections and state polls. Reports indicated that Ashok Chavan might join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Today, i.e. on Monday, February 12, 2024, I have tendered my resignation as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 85-Bhokar Assembly Constituency to the Assembly Speaker Rahulji Narvekar,” Ashok Chavan said in a post on X, the former Twitter platform. Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis responded, “Several leaders of the Opposition want to join the BJP,” in response to questions regarding reports that Ashok Chavan might join the BJP. Since they feel stifled in their party, many Congress leaders have been in touch with us. “Observe what transpires next; aage aage dekhiye hota hain kya,” Devendra Fadnavis declared during a news conference on Monday. Three Congress MLAs—Subhash Dhote, Jitesh Antarpurkar, and Amar Rajurkar—are reportedly inclined to follow Ashok Chavan’s example, according to party insiders.

Who is Ashok Chavan?

In the Marathwada locale, Ashok Chavan stays in the Nanded area. His father was Maharashtra’s late chief minister, Shankarrao Chavan. In 2010, Ashok Chavan surrendered as chief minister over claims that he was engaged with the Mumbai Adarsh lodging extortion. From 2014 to 2019, he filled in as the head of state Congress. The renunciation of the previous Maharashtra chief minister takes on extraordinary importance considering the new exits of two conspicuous individuals from the Congress party, Baba Siddiqui and Milind Deora. Ajit Pawar’s Patriot Congress Party (NCP) wing invited Baba Siddiqui, while the Eknath Shinde-drove Shiv Sena invited Milind Deora.

Zeeshan, the current MLA from Bandra East and the son of Baba Siddiqui, is expected to succeed his father. “There is discord in the Maharashtra Congress, Ashok Chavan has resigned, and there are internal fights in the Congress,” asserted Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the president of the Maharashtra BJP. People are fleeing because there is no leader and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, is mistreating the OBC community. As a result, nobody wants to live with them. Indeed, everyone is allowed to join the BJP if they so choose.

Baba Siddique’s exit

Before joining the NCP, Baba Siddique claimed to have spoken with former Congress MP Priya Dutt and his son Zeeshan Siddique, an MLA. Siddique, a well-known Muslim leader of the Mumbai Congress, formerly held a ministerial position in Maharashtra during the Congress-NCP alliance. The Mahayuti government, led by the Shiv Sena, and the BJP are both controlled by the NCP, which is led by Ajit Pawar. Last Monday, the 48-year-old Siddique senior made his decision to break away from the Grand Old Party known.

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The 48 years that it has taken me to join the Indian National Congress party since I was a small child have been remarkable. With immediate effect, I hereby resign from my primary membership in the Indian National Congress Party (@INCIndia),” he declared. When the Covid-19 pandemic was at its worst, Baba Siddique was praised widely for getting desperately needed medications to patients in need. The prominent politician is also renowned for throwing lavish “Iftar” gatherings that prominent Bollywood actors like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan attend.