Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan has quit Congress, said the sources on Monday. They added that he is likely to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

If he joined the BJP, this would be the second big blow to Congress in a month after another party leader Milind Deora dumped his party and switched to the saffron party. Deora’s family has been associated with the Congress for over five decades and his father Murli Dero was one of the tallest leaders of the state.

Senior Congress leader Baba Siddique joins NCP

Former Maharashtra minister and senior Congress leader Baba Siddique, who ended his association with the Congress after nearly five-decade recently, joined the Nationalist Congress Party in presence of Ajit Pawar in Mumbai on Saturday. Siddique had quit the Congress, ending his 48-year-long relationship with the party, on February 8. Though he did not cite any reason for his decision to quit, he had said that there was a lot to express but “some things are better left unsaid”, in an apparent dig at the party.

Adarsh housing scam cost Chavan CM post

Chavan had succeeded Vilasrao Deshmukh as Maharashtra Chief Minister in December 2008 and was forced to resign in November 2010 in the wake of the Adarsh housing scam. He was president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) from 2014 to 2019.

Also read: Bihar: Awadh Bihari Choudhary removed as Speaker after no confidence motion in assembly