Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday said INDIA alliance is not working, it is a fact.
“INDIA Alliance is not delivering results. That's why we see there is a lot of general nervousness among the colleagues… That's why people are leaving the alliance one by one, they don't see any future,” Ashok Chavan said while talking to news agency ANI.
Chavan further said that he left the Congress after watching the mood of the nation. Chavan quit the Congress on Tuesday and joined the BJP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
“In politics you have to understand the mood of the nation. Considering the mood of the people, I have decided to join the BJP. I will not comment on Congress, whatever happens in Congress will be their karma. I respect Sonia Gandhi. I have just left the party and I am not big enough to comment on her,” Chavan said earlier.
Meanwhile, at least five Congress MLAs were not present at a meeting of the party's lawmakers in Maharashtra on Thursday, convened in the wake of former chief minister Ashok Chavan's high-profile exit, sparking speculation of more such defections.
Zeeshan Siddique (Bandra East), Aslam Shaikh (Malad West), Amit Deshmukh (Latur City), Sulbha Khodke (Amravati) and Mohanrao Hambarde (Nanded South) were not present at the meeting here.
Congress Legislative Party leader Balasaheb Thorat said all five lawmakers remained absent after seeking his permission.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole also alleged that the lawmakers had sought his permission to skip the meeting due to previous commitments.
Siddique and Shaikh said they had commitments in their constituencies while Deshmukh is out of the state. Khodke and Hambarde were on family dates, a party official said.
The party functionary added that both Siddique and Shaikh had signed as petitioners against Congress' Rajya Sabha candidate Chandrakant Handore and attended a meeting of party lawmakers on Wednesday evening.
In a setback for the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former CM Chavan resigned from the grand old party on Monday, sparking speculation of more defections from the party. A day later, he joined the BJP and was fielded by the saffron party for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Last month, former Union minister Milind Deora switched the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena from the Congress. Deora has been nominated by the Shiv Sena for Rajya Sabha polls.
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Published: Feb 15, 2024 10:37 PM IST