Ashok Shankarrao Chavan is an Indian politician from Nanded. He is one of the biggest face of Indian National Congress in Maharashtra and he is the current PWD Minister of Maharashtra. He also served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra state from 8 December 2008 to 9 November 2010. He earlier also served as Minister for Cultural Affairs, Industries, Mines and Protocol in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government. On 9 November 2010, the Congress Party asked him to resign from office over corruption allegations relating to Adarsh Housing Society scam. In the 2014 general elections, despite the allegations and anti-incumbency wave, he won the Lok Sabha election from his Nanded constituency with a comfortable margin. Often considered as one of the best leaders in Maharastra who depends on experience and intellect. He also helped Rajiv Satav to win from the neighbouring Hingoli constituency. In 2015, he was appointed as the president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.Chavan lost his Nanded seat in the 2019 Lok sabha election to Pratap Patil Chikhalikar of the BJP. Chavan belongs to an influential political family based in Nanded district of Maharashtra state. He is the son of Shankarrao Chavan, a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra himself; they are the first father–son duo in the state's history to become chief ministers. His brother-in-law Bhaskarrao Bapurao Khatgaonkar Patil was a three-time Member of Legislative Assembly and a three-time MP, and Chavan's wife, Amita is MLA from Bhokar constituency in Nanded for year 2014-19.
Personal life
He graduated in Science and has obtained his Master's in Business Management from Hazarimal Jomani College and B.Y.K. College of Commerce. Chavan belongs to a political dynasty that includes his father and wife. Chavan's father, Shankarrao Chavan had a long career as a minister and twice, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He had also served as a senior minister in the national government under various Congress governments. Ashok Chavan is married to Ameeta. Ameeta is current member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Bhokar constituency which has previously been represented by both Shankarrao Chavan and Chavan himself. The couple has twins daughters Srijaya and Sujaya. He is the President of Sai Sevabhavi Trust Nanded, a charitable voluntary organisation.
In the aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Vilasrao Deshmukh took the moral responsibility and offered to resign, which was then accepted by the party and Chavan was elected as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. After winning assembly elections in 2009, Congress PresidentSonia Gandhi once again nominated Chavan as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Sharad Pawar, the leader of rival coalition partner NCP party, had been lukewarm towards Chavan, after his first choice of union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was ignored well before the race began. Congress had clearly plumped for a Maratha to lead the party in the state, and had ignored the NCP view that a non-Maratha should be selected for the position to set right the social combination. As a result, NCP chose a non-Maratha, Chhagan Bhujbal to occupy the deputy Chief Minister's post and gave the home ministry to Jayant Patil. The latter being a Maratha balanced the NCP's own bid to remain the community's first choice. Chavan was asked to resign as Chief Minister during a meeting with Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, after it emerged that three of his relatives owned apartments in the Adarsh Housing Society which was created specifically to house Indian war veterans in the upmarket Colaba area of Mumbai. He was succeeded by Prithviraj Chavan, who, despite having a common surname, is not related to him.
Post Chief Minister
Despite the corruption allegations, the Congress party put him up as a party candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. He won the election by a huge margin. In Maharashtra, Rajiv Satav and Chavan were the only Congress candidates elected. In 2015, he took over as the chief of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Ashok Chavan contested the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from Nanded Constituency. Former Maharastra CM lost the election to BJP's Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar. He is one of the 9 former Chief Ministers of Congress who lost in Lok Sabha 2019 Election.
Controversy, scams and allegations
Apart from the much discussed Adarsh Housing Society Scam, Ashok Chavan was accused of using his office to fund his relatives' bank. Adarsh scam was promoted by media house and then opposition party in Maharashtra state assembly which eventually leads to his resignation from the post of Chief Minister. But recently High court of Maharashtra state has given a result in favour of Ashok Chavan and denied permission to investigation agency to question him. Ashok chavan declared it as a step towards victory and called what happened as a political vendetta. In 2009 Assembly Elections, he was accused of hiding expenses on a paid supplement titled Ashok Parva in a leading Marathi daily. However, he denied the allegation by the Election Commission of India of having inserted favourable Paid News in newspapers.
