Sharad Pawar-Led NCP Says Ex-Maha CM Ashok Chavan Joining BJP Is ‘Not A Surprise’

In a  major blow to the Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra chief minister Chavan on Monday tendered his resignation from the party. He joined the BJP on Tuesday.

File Photo of NCP Veteran Sharad Pawar

New Delhi: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar wasted no time in expressing its dismay over Ashok Chavan's decision to join BJP. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Clyde Crasto remarked that while Ashok Chavan's defection was not entirely unexpected, it was nonetheless disheartening to see leaders succumbing to the pressures exerted by the ruling party.

"Chavan is another example of those individuals, who when they are under the lens, the BJP puts pressure on them. They succumb to it and then eventually join the party", PTI quoted Crasto as saying. He alluded to the Adarsh scam which cost Chavan his chief ministerial berth in 2010.

"There are certain leaders, who have the power and capacity to fight the BJP, are actually giving up and succumbing to their pressures", Crasto remarked.

Jolt To Congress As Ashok Chavan Joins BJP Ahead of Lok Sabha Polls

In a major blow to the Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra chief minister Chavan on Monday tendered his resignation from the party. Chavan On Tuesday, joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at an event, reported PTI.

According to PTI, Chavan is accused in the Adarsh housing society scam wherein a 31-storey posh building in south Mumbai was constructed allegedly on land owned by the Defence Ministry without getting the requisite permissions and clearances. In reference to this, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) said, "It (Chavan joining the BJP) is not a surprise".

This is the second such example, after, former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique joined the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday, days after he left Congress, in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. Siddiqui was welcomed by Ajit Pawar and top NCP leaders, including working president Praful Patel and state president Sunil Tarkare, as per PTI.