Why Ashok Chavan may take the Rajya Sabha route

Ashok Chavan

Giving the Congress another severe jolt in the ongoing exodus of leaders, former chief minister Ashok Chavan resigned from the party and Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha on Monday. It is being said that internal feuding in the Congress, uncertainty about opportunities and growth, especially of the next generation - his twin daughters - are among the reasons for Chavan's big step.

Last year, Chavan's daughter Shreejaya had hogged the limelight during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanded district. The yatra was seen as the launchpad of his political heir. If the father goes to New Delhi, the daughter will take his place in the Bhokar Assembly constituency.

Chavan is the third senior leader of the state to quit the grand old party within a month. His exit triggered serious talks of more Congress MLAs leaving the party ahead of the Assembly polls in October this year.

Former Congress leader Ashok Chavan addresses the media outside his residence. Pic/PTI

Though Chavan, 65, was expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, he said he would decide on the next move in a day or two. His exit came ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections. It was said the BJP had assured him a seat in the upper house. Unconfirmed reports said BJP leader Amit Shah is scheduled to induct Chavan in the party at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) later this week. The state BJP leadership did not say much about the development, but Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis told reporters cryptically, "Aage aage dekho hota hai kya... (watch what happens next)".

Chavan was an MLA from Bhokar in Nanded district, the region his father Shankarrao Chavan, the two-time Maharashtra CM and Union home minister, had nurtured. Ashok Chavan represented Nanded, one of the only two Lok Sabha seats the Congress could win from the state in 2014's Modi wave.

Resignation accepted immediately

The ex-CM, who served as the Congress working committee, was part of party activities till Sunday evening. He handed his MLA resignation to Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Monday and later quit the party. Narwekar accepted the resignation almost immediately.

When asked, Chavan said it wasn't time to call out anyone in the Congress for his resignation. "I worked honestly while I was in Congress. Not everything is to be made public," he said, hinting at his resentment that had been brewing for long. In fact, concurrent to the Shiv Sena split two years ago, it was said that Chavan would quit and walk away with Congress MLAs. On Monday, he said he had not talked to the Congress MLAs about any such plan before resigning. Then Chavan had ruffled feathers when he along with a dozen other party MLAs, had arrived late for the trust vote of the Shinde-Fadnavis government in 2022. A month before this in the legislative council polls, a Congress nominee, who had been assured the top preference votes, had lost because of cross-voting. The Congress had appointed a panel to probe the incidents.

Two major upsets earlier

Before Chavan inflicted a blow, the Congress had suffered two major upsets in January and February. Senior leaders, Milind Deora and Baba Siddique quit. Deora joined the Shinde Sena and Siddique, the NCP (Ajit Pawar). However, people in the Congress said that whoever wishes to quit as the MLA should be doing so a little ahead of the Assembly elections. "Only those who get assured of plum rehabilitation by the party they wish to join, will move out. It doesn't make any sense for others who don't have a good deal in hand yet, to lose the precious few months of Assembly membership in the election year," said a senior Congress leader.

Some linked Chavan's resignation to the Adarsh housing scam which was mentioned in the white paper on the UPA regime. The leader, who had replaced Vilasrao Deshmukh as the CM in the wake of the 26/11 terror attacks, had to go after two years because of allegations in the Adarsh building case. But the ex-CM denied it. "The white paper has no connection to my resignation," he said.

BJP pressure?

Crying foul, MVA leaders blamed Chavan's move on the BJP's pressure tactics. They were unanimous in confirming the BJP as the ex-CM's destination. Uddhav Thackeray wondered whether the Election Commission could give Chavan ‘ownership' of the Congress.

In response, the state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule blamed the Congress for the resignation. "The party cannot resolve internal matters. Why would any leader stay in the party that insults OBCs? Who will stay with Rahul Gandhi?" he said, adding that he hadn't received any proposal from Chavan, especially about the Rajya Sabha seat.

Havan had ruffled feathers when he along with a dozen other party MLAs, had arrived late for the trust vote of the Shinde-Fadnavis government in 2022. A month before this in the legislative council polls, a Congress nominee, who had been assured the top preference votes, had lost because of cross-voting. The Congress had appointed a panel to probe the incidents.