Though the assembly election results are neck to neck, it will turn out to be a test for both BJP and Chavan. Whether he is going to turn out to be an asset for the party and was it really right to poach him from Congress?.

"I am a secular man within BJP," Ashok Chavan claimed when asked by a journalist how he has adjusted to the BJP even as his political upbringing has been with the Congress, which claims to be a secular party.

For BJP and Chavan, these assembly polls are going to be a litmus test. The results will tell if he turned out to be a bonanza for the party or have they committed a blunder by poaching him from Congress? He is going to prove his clout in Nanded and its assembly constituencies. Maharashtra assembly polls: Complete coverage

Few in political circles were surprised when Ashok Chavan, a Congress stalwart and former CM of Maharashtra, recently crossed over to BJP. His membership in Rajya Sabha was given, without much debate, soon after induction into the party. Whispers that had been doing the rounds since the rebellion led by Ajit Pawar in the NCP went into effect in July 2023 were vindicated, as he too was victimized by BJP like Ajit Pawar.

PM Modi and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis had earlier criticized Chavan at many public platforms who claimed his alleged involvement in the Adarsh Housing Scam. His name got embroiled in the controversy that forced him to step down from the post of CM in 2010. In fact, even some party leaders came out into the public arena announcing a statement that the Adarsh probe could be revived before he joins the BJP.

Although the general view is that Chavan quit the Congress because he was harassed by the centre investigation agencies, the reasons for quitting in different terms are provided by him. From Chavan's account, it was more in the form of an enamoration with Modi's vision alongside internal politics within the Congress which makes him ultimately cross the floor and join the BJP. Chavan claimed that there was a plot from a dead now Congress leader against him in the party.

It is the upper Marathwada region from where the BJP is looking to settle Chavan for electoral successes. The BJP is in the midst of a great deal of criticism because of Maratha agitation and farmer discontent in Lok Sabha elections. Chavan was on the side of the BJP but BJP could not manage to retain Nanded Lok Sabha seat. In a way, it was a duty that sat on the shoulders of Chavan to heal the angst of those protesting crowds. He appears to be confident enough of the Mahayuti good showing in the region and stakes everything on his case. He believes that the sentiments of the voter are diverse for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. He lost the Nanded Lok Sabha seat in 2019, but still won the Vidhan Sabha seat in the election five months later.

Chavan's daughter Sreejaya has now ventured into electoral politics and will contest from Bhokar, a seat adjacent to Nanded city. A legal professional, Sreejaya had managed Chavan's back-office political affairs. Chavan discounts allegations of dynastic politics, terming Sreejaya's decision to join the political fray as being on her own merit.
Nanded district has been a fortress of the Chavan family for nearly five decades. SB Chavan, father of Ashok Chavan, was a Congress stalwart who also served as Maharashtra's CM besides being a Union Minister. In the 2019 assembly elections, BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won five out of nine assembly seats in Nanded district, while Congress won four. Marathas form more than half the electorate in the district. The OBCs are 27%. The rest consisted of Muslims, Sikhs, SC and ST.