Ravindra Chavan set to be BJP state president

The official announcement of his election will be made by union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju at a grand event at Worli on Tuesday

Mumbai: Ravindra Chavan, who was appointed working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra in January, is all set to be elected as the party’s next state president. The official announcement of his election will be made by union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju at a grand event at Worli on Tuesday. Chavan will take over from the outgoing president and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who was appointed in August 2022.

Ravindra Chavan (HT Photo)

On Monday, Chavan filed his nomination after Rijiju announced the election programme as the central observer for the poll to elect BJP’s new state president. He is likely to be elected unopposed as no other party functionary has filed nomination. The election is considered important ahead of local body polls likely to be held later this year.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was present when Chavan filed his nomination, said the official appointment would be made by Rijiju on Tuesday.

“After the election of district presidents and mandal chief, the election of the state president is being held under the observation of Rijiju. If no other nomination is filed, the official announcement will be made by the central observer at an event in the presence of state level party workers,” Fadnavis said.

Who is Chavan?

Ravindra Chavan, 54, started his political career as a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha worker in the early 2000s and was elected vice president of the youth wing for Kalyan district in 2002. A four-time MLA from Dombivli constituency, he was minister of state in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government from 2016 to 2019 and public works minister in the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government from July 2022 till October 2024.

Chavan is considered to be a skilled political organiser and has spearheaded local body and assembly polls in the Konkan and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region over the past decade. He is believed to be a close aide of Fadnavis.