 "Congress nominates Ashok Chavan in Nanded")
The Congress on Tuesday nominated Adarsh scam-tainted former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan from the Nanded Lok Sabha seat.
“We realised that we were not in a position to sideline Chavan, especially when when we are struggling to weather the anti-Congress mood across India. Besides, Chavan’s nomination would help us to regain our hold in Marathwada, where the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have made inroads,” a Congress leader told Business Standard.
Chavan has emerged as the leader who can fill up the vacuum created after the death of former chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh. Chavan hails from the powerful Maratha community and enjoys a good rapport with Muslims and OBCs.
To a question on Chavan’s rehabilitation despite a pending CBI inquiry and court cases in connection with the Adarsh scam and his involvement in it, Rahul passed the buck to Chavan.
Ashok Chavan had resigned in November 2010, following the Adarsh scam expose.
Marathwada, the region where Nanded is located, constitutes eight out of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats. Of these eight seats, the Congress had won Nanded and Latur in 2009, while its partner NCP had bagged Osmanabad. The balance five seats were won by the Shiv Sena and BJP.
“We realised that we were not in a position to sideline Chavan, especially when when we are struggling to weather the anti-Congress mood across India. Besides, Chavan’s nomination would help us to regain our hold in Marathwada, where the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have made inroads,” a Congress leader told Business Standard.
Chavan has emerged as the leader who can fill up the vacuum created after the death of former chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh. Chavan hails from the powerful Maratha community and enjoys a good rapport with Muslims and OBCs.
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A fortnight ago, Chavan had shared the dais with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and garlanded him.
To a question on Chavan’s rehabilitation despite a pending CBI inquiry and court cases in connection with the Adarsh scam and his involvement in it, Rahul passed the buck to Chavan.
Ashok Chavan had resigned in November 2010, following the Adarsh scam expose.
Marathwada, the region where Nanded is located, constitutes eight out of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats. Of these eight seats, the Congress had won Nanded and Latur in 2009, while its partner NCP had bagged Osmanabad. The balance five seats were won by the Shiv Sena and BJP.