New Delhi: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who quit the Congress Monday, has announced he will be joining the BJP later today.
“Today is a new beginning of my political career,” Chavan told reporters in Mumbai. “I am formally joining the BJP today in their office in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis… I am hopeful that we will work for the constructive development of Maharashtra,” he said.
Chavan said he was not aware if any other leaders from the Congress were switching to the BJP. Two senior party leaders, Milind Deora and Baba Siddique, have recently quit Congress to join parties in the state’s ruling coalition where the BJP is a constituent.
Deora joined Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, while Siddique went to the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar, who is also a deputy chief minister of the state.
There has been no confirmation yet whether the 65-year-old Chavan will be fielded for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
After he quit the Congress, Chavan had said his decision was entirely personal, telling reporters that he would not “discuss anything happening in the Congress on a public forum”.
Chavan sent in his resignation as a primary member of the party to state Congress president Nana Patole Monday. He also submitted his resignation as an MLA to Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.
Chavan has refuted claims that the white paper tabled in Parliament prompted him to resign from the Congress.
The white paper mentioned the Adarsh Building scam, pertaining to a housing society in Mumbai which forced Chavan to step down as the CM of Maharashtra in 2010.
Chavan, MLA from the Bhokar seat, was also a member of the Congress Working Committee and is former MP from the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency.
Also read: Going, going, gone — another Congress dynasty crumbles as Ashok Chavan resigns from party