Mumbai: Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, an accused in the Adarsh housing scam, has been appointed as state Congress president while Sanjay Nirupam takes over as the Mumbai city unit chief.
The appointment comes more than nine months after the Congress party was routed in Maharashtra in the general elections held in May and assembly polls in October 2014. From holding 17 out of the state’s 48 parliamentary seats in the 2009 elections, the Congress came down to winning just two seats — one of them being won by Chavan who got elected from Nanded.
Apparently, his dynamism as a politician with strong grass roots connections were the reasons for his victory — in spite of being indicted by a judicial commission.
A report said he had given clearances and permissions for the Adarsh residential building, in Mumbai’s posh Colaba area, meant for war veterans and war widows, in return of his relatives being granted membership in the housing society.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi congratulated Chavan on the win as other big timers like Sushil Kumar Shinde, the late Milind Deora, Gurudas Kamat and others had lost. According to reports, Rahul Gandhi was not in favour of Chavan being made Maharashtra chief but it appears that his mother took the decision to appoint him to revive the Congress in the state.
Chavan, 56, expressed his gratitude to both Sonia and Rahul “for bestowing the responsibility of Congress leadership in the state” and promised to make the party strong and restore the confidence of party workers.
Chavan replaces Manikrao Thakre, who headed the party for seven years. Nirupam took over from Dalit leader Janardhan Chandurkar who headed the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee for two years.
Chavan was elected as the chief minister in December 2008 following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, replacing his predecessor the late Vilasrao Deshmukh. Chavan was, however, forced to quit in November 2010 after his name figured in the Adarsh scam.
Nirupam, 50, former Shiv Sena MP who was also executive editor of the party’s mouthpiece “Dopaharka Saamna,” quit the party in 2005 and joined the Congress. He was elected from Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 which he lost by a record margin in 2014.
