"Wake-up call for Congress:" NCP leader Baba Siddique after Ashok Chavan's exit

After former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan left the Congress party on Monday, NCP leader Baba Siddique on Tuesday said that this is a wake-up call for the grand old party.

Ashok Chavan on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He had resigned from the primary membership of the Congress party on Monday.

Reacting to this, Siddique said, "Ashok Chavan called me and I told him that we are going to meet soon on the way ahead. More people are going to leave because when a person feels suffocated, he tries to find a way. It is a wake-up call for Congress but I don't think they are going to wake up."


Taking a jibe at the grand old party, the NCP leader said, "They live in La-la land, they are living in illusion. They don't see a writing on the wall. It's unfortunate for a party formed in 1885 that people are leaving like this. There must be a reason why people are leaving Congress."

When asked about the reason behind the leaders leaving the Congress party, Siddique said this was because of the decision taken by the high command.

"As I think, this is not happening because of any specific leader. This is because the decision taken by the high command collectively. The people who are not elected decide for the party. There are even some people who haven't fought the election ever," he said.

Ashok Chavan is the third big name to desert the Congress ship in Maharashtra. First to go was former South Mumbai MP Milind Deora who left the grand old party to join the Shiv Sena, which is led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Meanwhile, last week, Baba Siddique announced his resignation from the Congress' core membership. He had been involved with the grand old party for 48 years.

Chavan was the Vice President and General Secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress Committee from 1986 to 1995.

He served the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for three terms, starting in 1999 and ending in May 2014.

He served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra State from December 8, 2008, to November 9, 2010. On November 9, 2010, the Congress Party asked him to resign from office over corruption allegations relating to the Adarsh Housing Society scam.