Ashok Chavan's Exit: Congress fails to arrest plummeting morale of both leaders and rank-and-file

Ashok Chavan's exit is likely to trigger an exodus from the opposition party. (Source: PTI/File image)

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan's resignation from the Congress and the legislative assembly is undoubtedly a massive jolt for the grand old party in the state, bigger than Milind Deora and Baba Siddique.

Huge Loss For Congress

Considered one of the tallest Congress leaders in the state with significant influence in the Marathwada region, Chavan's exit is likely to trigger an exodus from the opposition party. Having been the Maharashtra Congress chief for five years from 2014, he has a considerable hold over the party organisation and his loyalists are occupying key posts in the state unit.

Being a chief ministerial face of the Congress, he had great acceptance among the party cadre pan Maharashtra.

Besides, Chavan was one of the few state Congress leaders who provided financial resources to the party, which is already facing a huge cash crunch. That way, it is a bigger loss for the Congress than Deora and Siddique whose exit could be considered bad optics as their influence remained limited to their respective areas only.

Fence Sitter Since 2022?

Chavan had stepped down as the chief minister in 2010 for his alleged involvement in the Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai. He hails from Nanded district in the Marathwada region and his father late Shankarrao Chavan was also the chief minister of Maharashtra.

The speculation about Chavan quitting the Congress had been doing the rounds for a long time and the buzz grew louder after he along with seven Congress legislators failed to participate in the trust vote sought by the Eknath Shinde government in July 2022 as they arrived late in the assembly premises. Many Congress leaders had then alleged that they deliberately arrived late.

His frequent run-ins with present Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole had made it impossible for the two to work together in the state unit. For its part, the Congress made some attempts to placate him. He was inducted in the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body in August last year.

Is There A Silver Lining?

The back-to-back resignations have added to the chaos and confusion in the Maharashtra Congress that seems to be in disarray. Both central and state leadership appear to have failed in addressing the concerns of the anxious rank-and-file whose morale is at its low due to the party’s successive electoral setbacks at the national level as well as in states.

That said, the exits have also thrown up an opportunity for dedicated young Congress leaders who had always complained that the regional satraps never promoted the second-rung leadership in any state.

It could be a blessing in disguise for the Congress provided its leadership is willing to learn its lessons, give up its status quoist attitude, and take corrective measures to stem the slide to put the grand old party back on track.

Aurangzeb Naqshbandi is a senior journalist who has been covering the Congress for 15 years, and is currently associated with Pixstory. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.