Ashok Chavan’s exit casts shadow on Congress’s fortunes in Rajya Sabha polls

The resignation of senior Congressman Ashok Chavan and potential Congress split in Maharashtra overshadow the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Senior Congressman and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan’s resignation from the party, coupled with the spectre of a potential Congress split in Maharashtra, has cast a shadow on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in the State, even as Congress leaders denied Mr. Chavan’s exit would impact the polls slated for February 27.

While senior Congressman Prithviraj Chavan and Solapur legislator Praniti Shinde claimed that the Congress’s flock in Maharashtra remained united, BJP State president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said there was no need for his party to split the Congress in order to win the sixth Rajya Sabha seat in the State.

Of the six seats in Maharashtra, the BJP — with 104 MLAs (in the 288 legislator Assembly) — will stake claim to three, while its allies in the government — the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena — will claim one each seat each. The Eknath Shinde-led faction has 39 legislators while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP claims to have 41 MLAs. The Shinde faction, as well as the BJP, also have the support of a number of Independents.

While the Congress, the party with the largest strength (43 MLAs) in the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was expected to comfortably win the sixth Rajya Sabha seat, Mr. Chavan’s exit and rumours that other MLAs may follow suit have cast a cloud on the party’s hopes.

“Nobody is going with Ashok Chavan. These [other Congress MLAs quitting] are mere rumours spread by the BJP,” said Mr. Prithviraj Chavan.

Remarking that Mr. Ashok Chavan had taken an unfortunate decision “out of despair”, Praniti Shinde — the daughter of former Union Minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde — said he was under pressure from the ED and the BJP’s “blackmail tactics”.

“I do not think Mr. Chavan’s exit will impact the Congress’s fortunes in the Rajya Sabha elections. The BJP is trying to portray the Maharashtra Congress as an unstable party but we are strong. These are the BJP’s tactics of pressure and blackmail. Mr. Ashok Chavan was under great stress because of the mind games being played by the BJP,” she alleged.