Ashok Chavan, a former state chief minister, had quit the Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year
Ashok Chavan. File Pic/PTI
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan on Friday took a swipe at his former colleagues in the Congress and said that the party should introspect about its poor performance in the recent Maharashtra Assembly election 2024, reported the PTI.
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Ashok Chavan, a former state chief minister, had quit the Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year, while his daughter Shreejaya Chavan won the November 20 assembly polls from Bhokar seat in Nanded district in Maharashtra.
"When I headed the state (chief minister), the party won 82 seats (in 2009). After me, Prithviraj Chavan (chief minister from 2010 to 2014) brought it down to 44 and Nana Patole (state unit chief since February 2021) has now brought it down to 16 (in the 2024 assembly polls). The figures are in front of us," he said, according to the PTI.
"Winning is a process in politics so the Congress should introspect," he added.
Ashok Chavan emphasised he was not giving advice to his former party but added "I was in 'vanvaas' for 14 long years (an apparent reference to his removal as CM) and I too have feelings," as per the PTI.
Ashok Chavan was Maharashtra CM between December 2008 and November 2010, before being replaced by Prithviraj Chavan.
Ashok Chavan was president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee between 2015 and 2019. He joined the BJP in February this year.
Meanwhile, last week, Ashok Chavan had termed the Mahayuti's landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly election "a huge change".
Ashok Chavan, who switched from Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year, slammed his former party, stating that it has no leadership in Maharashtra. "A huge change has come in Maharashtra. Mahayuti has got a huge mandate. Congress has no leadership and it does not have any leader left. People have understood that if we stay together, there is benefit," Ashok Chavan had told ANI.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance won the Maharashtra assembly polls. While the BJP has won 132 seats, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has won 57 seats, and NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won 41 seats. The state has 288 assembly seats. The constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a rude jolt with Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray winning 20 seats, Congress 16, and NCP (SCP) led by Sharad Pawar only 10 seats.
(with PTI inputs)
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