Mumbai: BJP MLA and former minister Ravindra Chavan on Monday filed his nomination for the post of the party's state president, and a formal announcement will be made by Tuesday evening, Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior party leader Devendra Fadnavis said.
Talking to reporters here, Fadanvis said the process of electing the new state chief of the BJP has begun, and Union Minister Kiren Rijuju, who is the party's central observer, was present during the nomination.
"The BJP will soon get a new state president. Ravindra Chavan has filed his nomination today in the presence of senior leaders, including the current chief and state Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and others," he said.
The chief minister said Chavan started his political journey as a youth wing worker before becoming a municipal corporator, an MLA, and later a minister.
"Chavan is a four-time legislator and a long-time colleague in the party. We are happy he has filed his nomination. The official announcement will be made by tomorrow evening," he said.
Fadnavis lauded the work done by the outgoing state chief, Bawankule, in strengthening the party organisation, which was reflected in the Assembly elections held last year.
Chavan, a prominent face from Thane district, began his political career in 2007 when he was elected as a corporator in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Despite the Congress-NCP alliance holding power, he became the chairman of the standing committee.
In 2009, he was nominated as the BJP candidate for the Dombivli assembly seat and won. He was re-elected in 2014 and served as a minister of state overseeing various municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayandar, and Panvel.
He played a key organisational role during the expansion of the BJP in semi-urban pockets such as Karjat, Badlapur, and Matheran. His performance earned him a place in the state cabinet, and he was also made the guardian minister of Palghar and Raigad districts.
In 2019, Chavan won his third term as MLA and was credited for playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in the formation of the Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis government in 2022. He was subsequently inducted as a cabinet minister with the PWD portfolio and appointed guardian minister for Sindhudurg.
Chavan won his fourth consecutive term from Dombivli in 2024 and is now poised to take over the reins of the state unit of the BJP.
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