Maharashtra Industries Minister Ashok Chavan will be the next chief minister of the state.The decision comes after long deliberations by the Congress high command, which on Wednesday had asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to resign, following the terror attack in Mumbai last week. Chavan has been nominated the leader of the state Congress Legislature Party by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on Friday.
In a major setback for the Congress ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who announced his resignation from the Congress party on Monday, will join the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday.
The BJP has again fielded Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar who humbled Ashok Chavan in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by over 40,000 votes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday fielded its president J P Nadda for Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan from his home state.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was among 13 people chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday in the multi-crore Adarsh Housing scam.
In a setback to the Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Monday quit the Congress, amid speculation that he is veering towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'Chavan's political clout began declining since his Lok Sabha defeat in 2019.'
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan says that he is innocent till proved guilty.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai on Tuesday, a day after quitting the Congress.
Ashok Chavan's choice as Maharashtra Chief Minister once again drives home the clout of political inheritance in the Congress.Ashok Chavan, 50, inherited the political legacy of his late father and former Chief Minister S B Chavan, becoming the first father-son duo in the state's history to adorn the chief ministerial chair. The senior Chavan was a loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and Home Minister R R Patil have also been invited for a speech against terrorism by the US president, scheduled at the Taj hotel in the afternoon. However, the ministers have not confirmed whether they will attend the function or not, an official from Mantralaya (the state secretariat) said
Chavan, who had to step down as Chief Minister soon after the alleged scam surfaced in November 2010, is one of the 14 accused in the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing several irregularities and violation of rules in construction of the 31-storeyed building in upscale Colaba.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan allegedly showed undue favours to scam-hit Adarsh Housing Society and asked its managing committee members to make recommendations for allowing 40 per cent allocation for civilians, according to the FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Tuesday sought exemption to appear as a witness efore the two-member commission probing the Adarsh housing scam.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Wednesday pleaded his innocence in the Adarsh housing society scam, saying he never cleared any files relating to the project.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to question former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan in connection with his alleged role in the housing society scam in Mumbai. The official said Chavan may be quizzed 'in connection with a letter he had cleared and signed recommending the inclusion of civilians in the society' which was originally meant for widows of Kargil war heroes and war veterans.
High drama continued till late Thursday over electing the new Maharashtra chief minister even as Ashok Chavan, the state industry minister and Congress MLA from Nanded, emerged as the clear favourite for the top post.
'The Congress must be given its due in the decision-making process of the government'
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and 37 other ministers were sworn in at a simple function at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai on Monday by Maharashtra Governor S C Jamir.
After quizzing two Union ministers in connection with the multi-crore Adarsh scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation has examined former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, as the agency prepares to wrap up its probe in the housing society case.
Nearly two months after he was chargesheeted in the Adarsh housing society scam, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Monday moved the Bombay high court seeking quashing of the cheating and corruption case registered against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The inquiry commission probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam has issued summons to former Maharashtra chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan to appear before it as witnesses. The two-member commission, which summoned Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde last week, issued summons to Deshmukh, presently Union minister for rural development, and Chavan.Chavan had to step down as the state chief minister last year following the Adarsh controversy.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was among the 13 people figuring as accused in the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday in connection with the Adarsh housing society scam which also names some retired senior Army officials.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has written to Prithviraj Chavan and the state chief secretary, claiming that the Adarsh inquiry Commission report does not do him justice and is against the principles of natural justice.
Rahul Gandhi claimed a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn't want to go to jail".
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an ongoing probe by the Election Commission into the authenticity of former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan's spendings during the 2009 state assembly polls allegedly involving expenses on "paid news".
'During the conversation there were occasions when he appeared distinctly uncomfortable.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation is all set to issue notices to all those named in the Adarsh housing scam, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, for questioning them over their role in alleged violation of laid-down norms.
In a U-turn, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday told the two-member inquiry commission probing the Adarsh housing society scam that he is ready to appear before it on June 30. Chavan, an accused in the Adarsh case, had on May 22 sought exemption from appearance before the judicial panel.
The Congress has hinted that former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan would be its lead campaigner, especially in the state's Marathwada region in the coming Lok Sabha polls, despite his being tainted in the Adarsh cooperative housing society scam.
Contradicting Ashok Chavan, the promoter of scam-tainted Adarsh Society on Monday said the former Maharashtra chief minister himself had suggested increase in the number of civilians in the society, which was essentially meant for defence personnels.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis orchestrated a significant victory for the BJP in the recent civic polls, solidifying his position as a key strategist and influential leader within the party.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who had stepped down in the wake of the Adarsh scam, on Wednesday filed nomination papers from Nanded Lok Sabha constituency.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, whose three relatives got flats in Adarsh, on Thursday claimed before the judicial commission probing the scam he came to know of their membership in the housing society only after the news of alleged irregularities was broken by the media.
Congress sources in New Delhi say the race is narrowing down between Deshmukh and Chavan with latter having an edge.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday did not name former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan in the benami property related to purchase of flat in the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai.
While everyone says that in terms of actual contribution to Nanded or in moral authority, Ashok Chavan cannot compare with his father, in terms of contact with his voters, he beats S B Chavan hollow. 'Sab ko sambhaltey hain.'
The ministry of defence on Friday filed an intervening application in the Bombay high court opposing the petition filed by former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan seeking to quash the FIR lodged against him by CBI in the Adarsh housing society scam.
Laying down a host of criterion for the selection of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has made it known that no tainted leader will be given a ticket by the party.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to seek a review of Maharashtra governor's order refusing to grant sanction for prosecution of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the multi-crore Adarsh housing scam.
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