On 9 November 2010, the Congress Party asked him to resign from office over corruption allegations relating to Adarsh Housing Society scam.[3] In the 2014 general elections, despite the allegations and anti-incumbency wave, he won the Lok Sabha election from his Nanded constituency with a comfortable margin. In 2015, he was appointed the president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Chavan lost his Nanded seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election to Pratap Patil Chikhalikar of the BJP.[4]
Chavan belongs to a political dynasty that includes his father and wife.[9]
Chavan's father, Shankarrao Chavan had a long career as a minister and was twice, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He had also served as a senior minister in the national government under various Congress governments. Ashok Chavan is married to Ameeta (née Sharma). Ameeta is current member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Bhokar constituency which has previously been represented by both Shankarrao Chavan and Chavan himself. The couple has twin daughters Srijaya and Sujaya.[10]
Political career
Organisational
He started career as student leader of University of Pune occupying post of University Representative (UR).
In 1992, he was elected as M.L.C. to the Maharashtra Legislative Council and later joined as Minister of State for Public works, Urban Development and Home in March 1993.
In 2003, Vilasrao Deshmukh appointed Chavan as Minister for Transport, Ports, Cultural Affairs and Protocol.
In November 2004, he was given the portfolio of Industries, Mining, Cultural Affairs & Protocol in Maharashtra cabinet.[5]
As a cabinet minister
2003: Transport Minister.
2019: Sworn in as Cabinet Minister in Uddhav Thackeray's Ministry.
After winning assembly elections in 2009, Congress President Sonia Gandhi once again nominated Chavan as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Sharad Pawar, the leader of rival coalition partner NCP party, had been lukewarm towards Chavan, after his first choice of union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was ignored well before the race began.[14][15][16]
Congress had clearly plumped for a Maratha to lead the party in the state, and had ignored the NCP view that a non-Maratha should be selected for the position to set right the social combination.[citation needed]
As a result, NCP chose a non-Maratha, Chhagan Bhujbal to occupy the deputy Chief Minister's post and gave the home ministry to Jayant Patil. The latter being a Maratha balanced the NCP's own bid to remain the community's first choice.[citation needed]
Chavan was asked to resign as Chief Minister during a meeting with Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, after it emerged that three of his relatives owned apartments in the Adarsh Housing Society which was created specifically to house Indian war veterans in the upmarket Colaba area of Mumbai.[17] He was succeeded by Prithviraj Chavan.
Post Chief Minister
Despite the corruption allegations, the Congress party put him up as a party candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. He won the election by a huge margin. In Maharashtra, Rajiv Satav and Chavan were the only Congress candidates elected.
Chavan contested the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from Nanded Constituency but lost the election to BJP's Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar. He is one of the 9 former Chief Ministers of Congress who lost in Lok Sabha 2019 Election.[19] In February 2024, he has nominated for Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra.[20]
Controversy, scams and allegations
Apart from the much discussed Adarsh Housing Society Scam, Chavan was accused of using his office to fund his relatives' bank.[21]
Recently High court of Maharashtra state denied permission to the agency investigating the Adarsh scam to question Chavan.