Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan Quits Congress, Likely to Join BJP, Stirring Political Speculation

Ashok Chavan, the former chief minister of Maharashtra, is likely to shake hands with the BJP after leaving the Congress, a party he battled for decades on the basis of ideology.

Even though top Maharashtra politicians believed Chavan may leave the party at any moment, the party leadership had welcomed him into the Congress Working Committee amid rumors of his intention to defect. On Monday, the central leadership of the Congress discussed Chavan's problems, which rendered him susceptible, but they did not provide an explanation for their choice to indulge him in spite of concerns.


"When friends and colleagues leave a political party that has given them much — perhaps much more than they deserved — it is always a matter of anguish," wrote Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh on X. However, THAT Washing Machine will always be more alluring to the weak than intellectual dedication or partisanship. These traitors are unaware of the tremendous opportunity that their departure presents to others whose development they have consistently impeded.

Ramesh questioned how these leaders could be so indifferent to personal allegiance and ideas.

In the last month, Chavan is the third prominent member of the Congress to resign. Popular Mumbai leader Baba Siddique joined the NCP's Ajit Pawar group, while Milind Deora joined the Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde side. According to sources, a few more Congressmen will leave the party in the next weeks.

Following reports that his family had been given homes in the Adarsh Society intended for troops, Chavan was ousted from his position as chief minister of Maharashtra. A few criminal charges are also pending against him. He was harshly chastised by Narendra Modi for "stealing" apartments intended for military personnel, but the prime minister has shown a propensity to accept corrupt politicians from all political parties.

The party will undoubtedly suffer from the departure of the son of longtime Congressman S.B. Chavan, who has significant influence in the Nanded district. There are rumors that he would be sent to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP. R.P.N. Singh, an additional Congress defector from Uttar Pradesh, has been sent by the BJP to the Rajya Sabha. Formerly, the BJP was also welcomed by Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada, who are both seen as close to Rahul Gandhi.

Sanjay Raut, a Shiv Sena MP, expressed disbelief at Chavan's resignation from the Congress. "It is difficult to accept Ashok Chavan's BJP membership. He spoke with us when he was here till yesterday. Will Chavan take up the party emblem and make a claim to the Congress, similar to Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar? Will the EC also give him the symbol? Anything might happen in our nation," he wrote in Marathi on X.

Raut's biting comment is not without merit. The party emblem was taken from the previous leaders, Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, by both Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

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