Congress leader Ashok Chavan on the stage with Rahul Gandhi in Degloor, where the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Maharashtra on Monday night. (Express photo by Alok Deshpande)Barely two months ago, former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan was under the scanner after speculation about a likely move to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but the massive scale at which he has led the organisation of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in his home district of Nanded has put those speculations to rest for now.
“I don’t want to comment on those speculations. We are busy organising the yatra and we are focused on making it a grand success,” Chavan told The Indian Express.
The yatra will cover over 104 km in Chavan’s home district Nanded, where Gandhi will address a public meeting on November 10. Chavan has made arrangements for an estimated gathering of over one lakh.
While the Maharashtra Congress has been given responsibilities to make arrangements for the districts of Hingoli, Washim, Akola and Buldhana, which will be covered by the yatra, Chavan has taken up the responsibility of Nanded single-handedly. “He is handling Nanded with all his strength and putting all his power behind making it a grand success,” said a senior leader from Maharashtra Congress.
Additionally, Chavan’s daughter Shrijaya has been on every banner and poster in the city, hinting at her political debut in the near future. She walked along with Gandhi on Tuesday morning, further fuelling talk of her entry in politics.
Earlier this year, talks about Chavan’s possible switch to the BJP were rife when he, along with 12 other MLAs from Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, could not reach the state Assembly on time during the trust vote of the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government. As he did not wholeheartedly deny the speculations, many of his detractors within the party had voiced the possibility.
During Ganesh festival, reports had surfaced that he had met Fadnavis at the home of a mutual friend, which further reignited the speculation. Chavan had then clarified that the meeting with Fadnavis did not happen. Many Congress leaders, including Legislative Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, had denied any possibility of Chavan switching over.