Ashok Chavan Being Considered For Nanded Lok Sabha Byelection

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan is being considered by the BJP for contesting the Nanded Lok Sabha byelection. A Rajya Sabha member at present, Chavan and his father Shankarrao have been elected from Nanded repeatedly for the past six decades on Congress tickets. A father-son CM duo, the Chavan family has a close attachment with Nanded, an underdeveloped pocket of the backward Marathwada region. Both have represented Nanded in parliament and the assembly. Ashok’s wife Ameeta, was a Nanded MLA. At present, their daughter Shrijaya is in the news as the next Nanded candidate of the BJP for the assembly. While Ashok Chavan seemed ensconced comfortably in the Rajya Sabha, the unexpected death of sitting Nanded MP Vasant Chavan of the Congress has changed the political equations. Since the seat was wrested by the Congress from the BJP earlier this year, Ashok is considered the best bet to win it back. The Congress has announced the candidature of Ravindra Chavan, the son of the deceased MP. Nanded Lok Sabha constituency has a substantial Muslim population, it being an important region of the Nizam’s Hyderabad princely state. In view of this, former Aurangabad (Sambhaji Nagar) MP Imtiyaz Jaleel of AIMIM has declared his resolve to enter the fray. In case this happens, the arithmetic of the election will undergo a sea change. Whatever happens, Ashok Chavan will continue to be a member of parliament.