Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan Faces His Biggest Test Yet: From Leading Congress To Steering BJP In Nanded Civic Polls

Nanded: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had managed to win only six seats in the previous Nanded Waghala City Municipal Corporation (NWCMC) elections, is gearing up for a major challenge this time under the leadership of former chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan. Once the Congress’s face in Nanded, Chavan now leads the BJP’s campaign to capture the civic body, a move seen as both symbolic and strategic.

In the 2017 NWCMC elections, the Congress, led by Chavan, delivered a sweeping victory, winning 73 of the 81 seats. The BJP had secured just six, while the Shiv Sena managed to win one. The results were then viewed as a strong rebuke to the BJP’s policies, with Chavan calling the outcome “public opinion against the wrong policies of the BJP.”

However, the political landscape in Nanded has since changed dramatically. Chavan has left the Congress to join the BJP and now bears the responsibility of steering the saffron party’s campaign in his former stronghold. The task, however, is far from easy; Nanded has long been a Congress fortress, and the party’s alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for the upcoming civic elections could tilt the balance further.

In the last polls, the BJP’s vote share under the leadership of Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar rose from 3% to 19%, but it still faced a heavy defeat. This time, with Mr Chavan at the helm, the BJP hopes to convert that growth into seats.

Political observers say the upcoming election will be a litmus test for Chavan’s credibility and influence. Having once led the Congress to victory against the BJP in Nanded, he must now convince the same electorate to trust his new party. Whether he can hoist the saffron flag over NWCMC remains to be seen.