A day after leaving the Congress, former chief minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.
Ashok Chavan Joins BJP Amidst Prominent Maharashtra Leaders
In the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, head of the Mumbai party unit Ashish Shelar, and cabinet minister Girish Mahajan, Chavan, 65, was inducted into the BJP at the party office in Mumbai.
“Today is the beginning of my new political career,” Chavan told reporters.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan says, "Today it's a new beginning of my political career. I am formally joining the BJP in their office today…I am hopeful that we will work for the constructive development of Maharashtra." pic.twitter.com/tU9PqiV5js
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2024
When asked if he had heard from senior Congressmen Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, Chavan avoided answering.
A number of Chavan’s supporters from his native district of Nanded in Marathwada, along with former Congress MLC Amarnath Rajurkar, traveled to Mumbai and convened at the BJP office in south Mumbai.
Son of former chief minister S B Chavan, Ashok Chavan, emphasized on Monday that he made the decision to leave the Congress on his own and declined to give any particular explanations for his decision. Days had passed since prominent Maharashtra Congressmen Baba Siddique and Milind Deora left the organisation.
In 2010, Ashok Chavan resigned as chief minister due to allegations that he was involved in the Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai.
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Ashok Chavan’s Departure Amidst Allegations and Political Dynamics
He is one of the accused in the Adarsh Housing Society Scam, in which a luxurious 31-story building in south Mumbai is said to have been built without the necessary clearances and permissions on Defence Ministry land.
Although Chavan has denied it, the Adarsh Building scam, which was referenced in a white paper submitted to Parliament last week, has come under scrutiny as a possible reason for his departure. Chavan led the state Congress from 2014 to 2019.
In addition to serving as the assembly member for Bhokar, he was previously the MP for the Nanded Lok Sabha seat.
