Ashok Chavan, the veteran Congress leader and son of former Chief Minister SB Chavan, joined the BJP on Tuesday. This came a day after he resigned from Congress, underscoring that his choice to depart was independent and refraining from attributing specific reasons for his exit.
Chavan is the latest former Congress Chief Minister to have switched to the BJP in recent years.
A political heavyweight, he was seen as a leader with a mass base in the Nanded region of Maharashtra.
Chavan served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from December 2008 to November 2010. He became the Chief Minister in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 and held the post for nearly two years before resigning.
He also served as President of the Maharashtra Congress unit from 2015 to 2019. Chavan was a Lok Sabha MP from 1987 to 1989 and was re-elected to the lower house in May 2014.
He is also a four-time MLA.
Some of the other former Congress Chief Ministers who have joined the BJP are:
KIRAN KUMAR REDDY
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy joined the BJP in April 2023 a month after he resigned from the Congress..
The last Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Reddy had strongly opposed the bifurcation of the state and resigned from the Congress in 2014 to protest against the then UPA government’s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and carve out Telangana.
He formed his own party, ‘Jai Samaikyandhra’, and even fielded candidates in some constituencies in the 2014 elections.
However, with no electoral gains, he rejoined the Congress again in 2018.
CAPTAIN AMARINDER SINGH
In September 2022, Captain Amarinder Singh, the former Chief Minister of Punjab, joined the BJP after merging his party – the Punjab Lok Congress.
Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from Congress in November 2021 and floated his new party.
In September 2021, he resigned as the Chief Minister of Punjab following months of infighting between him and then Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
SM KRISHNA
In March 2017, SM Krishna, the former Karnataka Chief Minister, quit Congress and joined the BJP in New Delhi. He served as the Chief Minister between October 1999 and May 2004.
SM Krishna was also the Maharashtra Governor between December 2004 and March 2008.
From May 2009 to October 2012, he was the External Affairs Minister in the then UPA government.
DIGAMBAR KAMAT
In September 2022, former Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat, joined the BJP for a second time.
Earlier in 1994, he quit Congress and joined the BJP.
He returned to the Congress in 2005 and played a key role in toppling the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government in the state.
Kamat served as the Chief Minister from 2007 to 2012.
VIJAY BAHUGUNA
In May 2016, Vijay Bahuguna, the former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, joined the BJP along with eight former MLAs from the state.
In January 2014, he tendered his resignation after being asked by the Congress to do so.
Bahuguna served as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from March 2012 to January 2014.
NARAYAN DUTT TIWARI
In January 2017, Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, along with his son Rohit Shekhar, joined the BJP.
Tiwari served as the third chief minister of Uttarakhand from 2002 to 2007 and thrice as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh between 1976 and 1989.
He was also the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from August 2007 to December 2009.
PEMA KHANDU
In December 2016, Pema Khandu joined the BJP along with 32 MLAs of the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA).
The Khandu government has been in power since July 2016.
Initially, the government was led by the Congress, but Khandu and nearly all of the party legislators defected to the PPA in September 2016, allowing him to retain his position of power.