Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole had a brief stint with Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) before he returned to Congress. Now that former Maharashtra CM and heavyweight political leader Ashok Chavan resigned from the Grand Old Party for the BJP, Nana Patole has remarked that Chavan would eventually be reduced to a “third row seat during a press conference”.
Nana Patole made the comment during an interview reported by Indian Express. Notably, Ashok Chavan was fielded as a Rajya Sabha candidate by BJP from Maharashtra, only days after the politician resigned from Congress.
During the interview Patole was asked if Ashok Chavan would play a crucial role in the BJP or hold high ranks, to which Nana Patole replied, “He (Ashok Chavan) has leadership skills. But let me tell you, because I have some experience working with the BJP, he will soon be seen sitting on the third row at a press conference.”
Patole also flagged a claim that Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah was likely to conduct the induction of Ashok Chavan into the BJP. However, the induction of Ashok Chavan into BJP was conducted by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole on Tuesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is scared and departure of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan will not have any impact on Congress.
“Congress and Maha Vikas Aghadi belong to the common people. The exit of a leader makes no difference. BJP in Maharashtra is scared in their survey also. That is why, they are making small attempts but as a result, people’s sympathy for Congress has increased. I think Congress’ seats will increase. The departure of Ashok Chavan will not have any impact on Congress,” he said.
Notably, Patole mentioned that the Congress had perplexed at Ashok Chavan’s resignation. In the interview reported by Indian Express, Patole said, “Ashok Chavan was one of the most senior leaders of Maharashtra Congress. He was part of various committees and also headed some of them, including the one on seat-sharing arrangement. On Sunday, he was part of the core committee meeting and did not speak much. Even after that he waited to meet our in-charge. He neither told us nor the leadership about his problem. Had we known the problem, we would have certainly worked hard to stop him.”
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Published: 14 Feb 2024, 03:53 PM IST