WATCH: Ashok Chavan begins 'new journey' of political career, joins BJP a day after quitting Congress

Day after quitting from Congress, former chief minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan joined the BJP on Tuesday.

Welcoming Chavan into BJP, Maharashtra Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said “Our strength in the state has increased.”

#WATCH | Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan joins the BJP at the party’s office in Mumbai. He recently quit Congress.

Former Congress MLC Amar Rajurkar also joined the BJP. pic.twitter.com/2833wY76am

— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2024

"It is a matter of happiness that a senior Maharashtra leader - who has been elected to the Maharashtra Assembly and the Lok Sabha and has worked as twice as CM - has joined the BJP," Fadnavis said.

VIDEO | Here's what Maharashtra Deputy CM @Dev_Fadnavis said at a press conference after ex-Congress leader Ashok Chavan joined the BJP.

"It is a matter of happiness that a senior Maharashtra leader - who has been elected to the Maharashtra Assembly and the Lok Sabha and has… pic.twitter.com/D2OgxqHzQU

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 13, 2024

Talking to reporters earlier in the day, Chavan said he is going to start a "new journey" in his political career as he announced his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"I am joining the BJP today at its office in Mumbai. Today is the beginning of my new political career," Chavan said on Monday morning.

Chavan had quit the grand old party on Monday and even resigned as MLA. There were speculations yesterday that he would join the BJP, but the politician said he had not taken any decision yet.

Son of former chief minister SB Chavan, Ashok Chavan (65), Monday said his choice to leave the Congress was independent and refrained from attributing specific reasons for his exit.

His quitting from the Maharashtra Congress is the third big exit in less than a month after senior Maharashtra Congress leader Baba Siddique, last week, joined NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and former Union Minister Milind Deora quit the party in January to join Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Reporters asked Chavan if he received any calls from senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, but he evaded a reply.

Chavan, however, said he has not contacted any Congress worker or his supporters to join him during his induction into the BJP.

Congress calls for urgent meeting

The defection of leaders has forced Congress to convene a meeting. AICC in-charge for Maharashtra Congress, Ramesh Chennithala, has called an urgent discussion with all senior party leaders in Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon.

As per reports, Congress fears that a few more MLAs will join Chavan.

Why Ashok Chavan quit Congress to join BJP?

Reacting to the move, senior Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam claimed that Chavan was upset with the "working style" of a party leader from Maharashtra and ultimately had resigned from the party.

“Ashok Chavan was definitely an asset for the party. Some are calling him a liability, some are holding ED responsible, all this is a hasty reaction. He was basically very upset with the working style of a leader from Maharashtra," Nirupam had said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Nirupam also lamented the loss of Chavan, describing him as a resourceful and skilled organiser with a strong grassroots connection, whose absence would be irreplaceable for the party.

A report by The Indian Express cited sources in Congress saying Chavan wanted to become the state unit president and had expressed this to the party leadership. “However, the party leadership wanted to stick with an OBC face ahead of general elections,” said a senior party leader.

With inputs from agencies