Newly Appointed Working President Ravindra Chavan Can Be Next Maharashtra BJP Chief—Here's Why

Ravindra Chavan was appointed as the working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Maharashtra unit on Saturday (11 January) evening by party national president Jagat Prakash Nadda.

Senior BJP sources told Indian Express that the working president designation is a stepping-stone for Chavan, positioning him to assume full leadership of the state BJP after the completion of the organisational election process.

54-year-old Chavan is a four-time member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Dombivali with Maratha roots, which will help the party send a strong message to the community amid the struggle for reservation.

Notably, Chavan is considered a close ally of Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis and was expected to secure a Cabinet position and hence, his appointment surprised many within the party.

Speculation about Chavan being assigned a significant organisational role grew after he was overlooked for a ministerial berth, while state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule was included.

"He (Chavan) does whatever work is assigned to him wholeheartedly and with no questions. This makes him acceptable to all within the organisation as well as party leaders," Bawankule was quoted as saying by IE.

Known as a shrewd politician who understands when to confront rivals and when to hold back, Chavan was assigned the responsibility of leading the party's enrollment drive in the state last December.

He successfully met the ambitious goal of bringing 1.5 crore people into the BJP's fold. A BJP leader favoured Chavan saying, "Organisational roles become very important due to the need for perfect coordination."

Chavan is also useful for the BJP in suppressing its rivals like Uddhav Thackeray as he was assigned to oversee the party's affairs in the 39 assembly seats of the Konkan region, considered a stronghold of Shiv Sena (UBT).

He can also help the BJP in balancing Deputy CM Ekanth Shinde, whose area of influence- Thane, Kalyan, Dombivali and Navi Mumbai- coincided with that of Chavan's. He has also opposed Shinde's son Shrikant's Lok Sabha candidature.