true to form? Ashok Chavan settled for Rajya Sabha seat without any opposition

It is a proof of Ashok Chavan’s cowardice that it took him so long to leave Congress and join BJP. Chavan is the son of former Union Home Minister Shankar Rao Chavan, who in his heyday bravely took to the streets of Marathwada during the Razakar movement, took on the Nizami forces and later fought to annex the region to Maharashtra.

Obviously the son is not of the same caliber. In later years, Shankar Rao Chavan left no stone unturned in taking on powerful sugar barons, including the powerful Sharad Pawar, in the interest of farmers in the region who were being deprived of water supply to their fields by sugarcane growers. Sugarcane consumes huge amounts of water and almost all of it is grabbed by these powerful politicians who head the sugar factories in western Maharashtra.

As Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shankar Rao was adamant in devising a 60-40 distribution of water resources so that other crops were not deprived, despite the fact that sugar traders hated him. But his son, who later also became the Chief Minister, never showed the same determination and courage, he was afraid of taking on Sharad Pawar even after he was no longer a Congressman and formed the NCP, and even he The Chief Minister was also afraid of dealing with Vilasrao. Deshmukh immediately retreated when challenged by Deshmukh, abandoning deceit and intrigue.

After Deshmukh’s demise, Chavan was almost the last man standing in the Congress in terms of grassroots engagement, though he still fell short of Deshmukh’s capabilities in that regard. But that position brought him closer to the high command and despite his involvement in the Adarsh ​​housing scam, Chavan enjoyed considerable patronage from the Delhi leadership.

But it was here that his cowardice, which till now was visible only to his close supporters, became evident to the general public. Even before the ED raids started in the country, Ashok Chavan was afraid of being put in jail by the ruling BJP government. The housing scam involved two other chief ministers who bent the rules to benefit friends and supporters, although they received no personal benefit.

However, as Revenue Minister under Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan ensured that he was a beneficiary, leading Deshmukh to sarcastically say, “If he really wanted an apartment in South Mumbai, any builder would have given him one.” Would have been willing to gift a penthouse for free. They really shouldn’t have needed to cut the 650 square foot Army quota.”

Not surprisingly, both Deshmukh, under whose tenure the Adarsh ​​project was launched, and Sushil Kumar Shinde, who spearheaded it, escaped charges, but their possession of not one but two flats in Adarsh ​​Society was similar to that of Ashok Chavan. There was an uproar when he became the Chief Minister. Since then, he has been in fear not only of the agencies but also of then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, wondering throughout 2014-19 what price he would have to pay for taking on the BJP.

As a trusted chief of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress during those five years, Chavan had a reputation for sitting quietly, not making any statements against the BJP despite its many violations, and making no efforts to strengthen the Congress base at the grassroots level. Didn’t do anything else so that he could somehow anger the BJP. , As a result, the Congress lost all but one of the 48 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections – and that too was not won by Ashok Chavan, who contested from Nanded.

A former Shiv Sainik, who joined the party a few days before the elections, won the lone seat from Vidarbha on the strength of his personal capital, even as the NCP in alliance with the Congress won five seats in that election. Because of the way they had cornered the Congress in the last five years, the Congress was expected to lose the assembly elections six months later, having won a maximum of a dozen seats out of 288.

That it surprised itself by winning 42 seats – only two less than in 2014, when it was in power in the state – was due to the fact that the Congress chose to appoint the self-effacing but committed Balasaheb Thorat as state president. Decided, which was pretty much it. Aided by five executive chairmen who worked hard to maximize profits in their respective areas.

Yet, Ashok Chavan was given immense importance in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, made a minister, made in-charge of the Maharashtra leg of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, the chief negotiator at the table for the Congress during seat-sharing talks, among others. Were MVA affiliates, and recently accommodated in CWC. This is despite the fact that rumors were spreading since BJYM that he was considering leaving the party and joining BJP as the Adarsh ​​scam was not dying down.

At least 10 days ago, those rumors got further strength. According to sources, Ashok Chavan was to join the BJP on February 21 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah – the deal was that he would be made a minister in the grand alliance government. But Fadnavis is said to have put his foot down firmly, saying he does not want any competition from a former chief minister and, moreover, does not want to give more importance to a Congressman by making a fanfare of his entry into the party.

Therefore he had to quietly resign and accept the Rajya Sabha nomination without any opposition. Because after all the sword of Adarsh ​​is still hanging over his head. And in his case, BJP’s washing machine has not started yet.