Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's induction has given a "booster dose" for the BJP in Nanded said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Fadnavis made the statement while speaking at a BJP rally in Nanded, approximately 270 kilometers away, following the filing of nomination papers by party colleague and incumbent MP Pratap Patil Chikhlikar. Chikhlikar had previously defeated Chavan, then associated with the Congress, by a margin exceeding 40,000 votes in the 2019 elections.
Chikhlikar had got 43 percent votes when Chavan was contesting against him. Now, Chavan is with us and Chikhlikar's vote percentage will go above 50. Chavan joining BJP has given a booster dose to the BJP in Nanded, Fadnavis said. Fadnavis highlighted that during his tenure with the Congress, Chavan backed the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway project, despite opposition from his party colleagues, as well as leaders from the NCP and Uddhav Thackeray's faction.
When the idea to connect Nanded with the Samruddhi Expressway came up, we decided to do it. We have an agenda to develop Marathwada and Vidarbha. Now, the development of Nanded and all of Marathwada will gather pace, the deputy CM said. Chavan said he and Ajit Gopchade (in Rajya Sabha) and MPs from Nanded, Hingoli and Latur will work jointly to develop Marathwada.