Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravindra Chavan has been appointed as the new state president of Maharashtra. The official announcement was made by senior BJP leader and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Mr. Rijiju criticised the Congress party, accusing it of misleading the public by spreading false narratives about a threat to the Constitution during Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding the three-language policy. Clarifying the state government’s position, Fadnavis affirmed that Marathi has always been given the highest priority and that it is mandatory in the state’s education system. He further added that we are not against the Hindi language and take pride in all Indian languages.
On Tuesday, outgoing BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule praised his successor. “He is a loyal and committed karyakarta and 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 said.
The 54-year-old Chavan who hails from the Maratha community made his foray into local body politics during his student days and was elected as a corporator in the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation in 2000. He served as the chairperson of the local body’s standing committee.
He first became an MLA in 2009 from Dombivali, which he has retained since. Between 2016 and 2019, he was a minister in the first Devendra Fadnavis government and held key portfolios such as Ports, Medical Education, Information Technology, and Food and Civil Supplies.
BJP insiders said Chavan’s Maratha roots would send a strong message to the community, which has been in the limelight over the past four years due to the quota agitation led by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.