Ashok Chavan Became CM Twice Due to Cong, Still He Quit Party: Nana Patole

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday hit out at veteran leader Ashok Chavan, saying he became chief minister twice because of Congress, but left the party when it was in trouble.

If Chavan was in the BJP earlier, he would have never become a big leader, he said.

Chavan, an influential leader from Nanded district, joined the BJP earlier this year after quitting the Congress with which he was associated for decades. He was made a Rajya Sabha member by the BJP.

The BJP has now fielded Chavan's daughter Shrijaya from the Bhokar constituency in Nanded for the November 20 assembly polls.

"Ashok Chavan sold the expectations of people from Bhokar constituency. Now, members of the next generation of his family are in the poll arena, so people should decide whom to vote for," Patole said while addressing a campaign rally at Mudkhed for Mudkhed and Bhokar assembly segments.

"Chavan used Congress, but defamed the party later. So will anyone stand with such a person? His relative said he (Chavan) joined BJP because he had fear of going to jail...," he said.

"Chavan considers himself a man of development and became the chief minister twice. But when the party was in trouble, he left it. If he was in BJP, he would never have become a big leader," Patole said.

Local voters thought that by supporting him, they would get facilities like water and industrial development. But this was never done by him, the Congress leader alleged.