Ashok Shankarrao Chavan (English: Ashok Shankarrao Chavan, born October 28, 1958, Mumbai, Maharashtra) is a politician of the Indian National Congress. He has been an MP of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha of India. In the 2014 elections, he was elected from Nanded, Maharashtra. Ashok Chavan has been the Chief Minister of Maharashtra twice, from December 8, 2008 to October 15, 2009 and again from November 7, 2009 to November 9, 2010. His father Shankarrao Chavan was also the Chief Minister of Maharashtra twice. This is the first pair in the history of the state in which both father and son were elected Chief Ministers.
Ashok Shankarrao Chavan was born on October 28, 1958. He is the son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan and Kusum Chavan. He entered politics as the General Secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Ashok Chavan graduated in Science and earned a Master’s in Business Management. His father Shankarrao Chavan has also been the Chief Minister of Maharashtra twice. This is the first pair in the history of the state in which both father and son were elected Chief Ministers. On May 14, 1982, Ashok Chavan married Amita. Amita is the current member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from the Bhokar constituency, which has itself been represented by Shankarrao Chavan and Ashok Chavan. Ashok Chavan and Amita have twin daughters named Shreejaya and Sujaya.
Ashok Chavan entered politics by becoming the General Secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. He is the Chairman of Sai Sevabhavi Trust Nanded, a charitable voluntary organisation. During his political career he served as the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Industries, Mines and Protocol in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government.[1]
Ashok Chavan started his political career as the General Secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. In the year 1987, he won the MP election for the first time from Nanded Lok Sabha seat. Became a member of the Legislative Council in the year 1992. Became a minister in Maharashtra government in 1993. Then, from 1995 to 1999, he was the General Secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. In the year 2003, Vilasrao became a minister in the Deshmukh government.
Ashok Chavan, who reached Parliament for the first time in 1987, has also been a Lok Sabha MP twice, Chief Minister twice and MLA thrice. Ashok Chavan was the Chief Minister from December 8, 2008 to November 9, 2010. But he had to resign due to the Adarsh Housing Society case. Before that, he had handled industry, mining and other departments in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government of Maharashtra.
After the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008, the then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had resigned. After which Ashok Chavan got a chance to become the Chief Minister. After this, after winning the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2009, Ashok Chavan again became the Chief Minister. The special thing is that at that time Union Minister and senior leader of Maharashtra Sushil Kumar Shinde was also in the race for the post of CM. Despite this, the political status of Ashok Chavan, who became the first choice of the Congress high command, can be estimated. However, ally NCP was continuously increasing the pressure of non-Maratha leadership.[1]
Power could not remain in the hands of Ashok Chavan for long. After the Adarsh Housing Society case, he had no other option but to resign. In this way, Ashok Chavan’s journey on the post of Chief Minister of Maharashtra ended and in his place Prithviraj Chavan became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. But Ashok Chavan’s politics did not end. In 2014, despite the Modi wave, Ashok Chavan won the election from Nanded Lok Sabha seat with a huge vote. But in the year 2019, he lost from Nanded seat to BJP candidate Prataprao Patil Chikhlikar.
