BREAKING: Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan joins BJP

In a setback to Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Monday tendered his resignation from the party. The departure of Chavan follows the recent exits of senior Congress leaders Baba Siddique and Milind Deora, deepening the Congress' challenges.  

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party a day after tendering his resignation from the Congress. Chavan will file his Rajya Sabha nomination on February 14.

Giving another blow to the grand old party, Chavan on Monday resigned from the party’s primary membership before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The former Congress leader was reportedly unhappy with the grand old party’s decisions in the state.

"I hereby submit my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress Party with effect from December 2, 2024 noon," Chavan stated in a statement.

Chavan's exit is yet another blow to Maharashtra Congress months ahead of state polls and the general election. Earlier, key Congress leader, Milind Deora, quit the party and joined the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena. Baba Siddique too left and moved to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Siddique severed his 48-year ties to the venerable Congress party. Congress leader Milind Deora ended his family's 55-year connection to Congress earlier in January by resigning from the party's core membership.

The 2010 Adarsh Building controversy forced Chavan to quit as the state's chief minister. Chavan is one of the accused in the Adarsh Housing Society fraud, in which a luxurious 31-story structure in south Mumbai is said to have been built without the necessary approvals and licenses on Defence Ministry land.