Writing a two-line letter to the Maharashtra Congress Chief, Nana Patole, former Congress MLA from Bhokar, Ashok Chavan, resigned from the party. His letter stated, ‘I have resigned from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress party on 12.2.24.’ It is likely that the former senior Congress leader will soon join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
As per reports, Chavan could either be the Rajya Sabha candidate from BJP or stand in the Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket. It is expected that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Maharashtra on February 15, and Chavan will be inducted into the BJP on the same day.
It is also being said that Ashok Chavan is not the only former Congress leader rubbing shoulders with the top leadership of the BJP. There are, at least, 12 to 17 Congress MLAs who are not only in touch with the BJP but with Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as well. Maha Congress Chief is expected to fly to Chhattisgarh soon, in order to speak with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Some time prior to Chavan’s resignation, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, when asked about Congress leaders joining the BJP, said, ‘Aage Aage dekho, hota hai kya’. This happened when the BJP inducted some former Congress municipal corporators into the party.
Calling Ashok’s decision ‘unfortunate’, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said, ‘This is an unfortunate decision. I never thought that a person like Ashok Chavan would take such a step.’ He added that voters would teach all those a lesson who deserted them and left the party.
