Ashok Chavan Wanted Deputy Chief Minister Post, Says Ex Party Colleague

Pune:

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday claimed that his former party colleague Ashok Chavan wanted the post of deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, but the BJP sent him out of state politics by giving a Rajya Sabha ticket.

Speaking to reporters here, the former chief minister also said that no other MLA from the Congress was in contact with the BJP, contrary to claims made by the saffron party.

“Their (BJP and Ashok Chavan) negotiations were going on for the last several days. He wanted deputy chief minister’s post and one more important portfolio in the state cabinet, but the demand faced opposition. Now he has been sent out of state politics. We wish him best luck,” said Prithviraj Chavan.

Maharashtra currently has two deputy CMs: BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s Ajit Pawar.

He conceded that Ashok Chavan was one of the key Congress leaders taking part in the seat-sharing discussion between the members of the opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra.

“No idea if he had passed any information (to BJP). We will have to start discussions again, but whatever discussions we had so far were carried out cautiously,” he said.

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