Mumbai: Amidst the ongoing speculations about a group of Maharashtra Congress leaders joining the BJP, a saffron party leader has indicated that former chief minister Ashok Chavan could join his party soon. BJP’s MP from Nanded Prataprao Chikhlikar on Saturday claimed that party’s state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule had told party workers that few Congress leaders from the district will join the BJP in a few days.
“Ashok Chavan is the tallest political leader from Nanded. I had said this a year ago that he will eventually join the BJP. If he comes to the BJP, we will welcome him,” Chikhlikar said.
Ever since Eknath Shinde’s rebellion in Shiv Sena, there has been a buzz about Chavan joining the BJP. The Congress leader has repeatedly denied it However, Chikhlikar said Chavan haa been getting more support from the Shinde government than the previous Uddhav Thackeray government in which the Congress leader was a minister.
“Chavan’s sugar factory is running with losses. When he was part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi cabinet, he did not get any help from the government. But after the Shinde government came to power, I heard that the factory received government’s financial help. Therefore he could join the BJP. If he takes that decision, I will welcome him as a BJP karyakarta,” Chikhlikar said.
According to sources, a group of Congress legislators is in touch with the BJP leadership in Maharashtra as well as in Delhi. Eknath Shinde's rebellion started soon after BJP’s shock victory in Legislative Council election in June 2022. It was possible because of the cross voting by Congress legislators.
Later, around eight Congress MLAs remained absent during the trust vote of the Shinde government. The absent MLAs claimed they could not reach the Assembly in time because of traffic jams. However, the Congress has refrained from taking any action against the MLAs.
