<p>Maharashtra politics had a pleasant surprise when veteran Congress leader Ashok Chavan met Deputy Chief Minister, and Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.</p>.<p>The two members of rival parties met when both were visiting Ashish Kulkarni—the officer on special duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde—at his residence.</p>.<p>Kulkarni is also the state BJP vice president, he was attached to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) as the OSD to make coordination seamless between the BJP and the rebel Shiv Sena faction. Kulkarni was also said to be close to the late Balasaheb Thackeray, Shiv Sena founder, and supposedly knew personally all the big players in Maharashtra politics.</p>.<p>People close to Chavan and Fadnavis clarified that the meeting was a coincidence, as both were at Kulkarni’s house for ‘Ganpati darshan’.</p>.<p>“I just happened to be at Ashish Kulkarni's place for Ganesh darshan when Fadnavis arrived. We had a cordial meeting in the presence of many guests…there is nothing more to it,” Chavan told a TV channel, when asked about the meeting.</p>.<p>Although the 63-year-old repeatedly issued denials, speculations have been rife over the past couple of months that Chavan was headed to the BJP.</p>.<p>Last month, Chavan met agriculture minister Abdul Sattar, a member of the rebel Shiv Sena faction, who was a minister of state in the previous MVA government and an ex-Congressman.</p>.<p>Chavan was also one of the 11 Congress legislators absent from the Assembly on July 4, during the headcount before the trust vote was cast, which ultimately led to the downfall of the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government.</p>.<p>The 63-year-old Chavan, a veteran from Marathwada—reported to be close to the Nehru-Gandhi family—occupied several important positions including that of chief minister and state Congress president. Chavan, who was chief minister during the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government in the state, had to resign after his name got embroiled in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.</p>.<p>Chavan hails from Nanded and is the son of late Congress leader Shankarrao Chavan, a former chief minister, and ex-union minister.</p>
<p>Maharashtra politics had a pleasant surprise when veteran Congress leader Ashok Chavan met Deputy Chief Minister, and Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.</p>.<p>The two members of rival parties met when both were visiting Ashish Kulkarni—the officer on special duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde—at his residence.</p>.<p>Kulkarni is also the state BJP vice president, he was attached to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) as the OSD to make coordination seamless between the BJP and the rebel Shiv Sena faction. Kulkarni was also said to be close to the late Balasaheb Thackeray, Shiv Sena founder, and supposedly knew personally all the big players in Maharashtra politics.</p>.<p>People close to Chavan and Fadnavis clarified that the meeting was a coincidence, as both were at Kulkarni’s house for ‘Ganpati darshan’.</p>.<p>“I just happened to be at Ashish Kulkarni's place for Ganesh darshan when Fadnavis arrived. We had a cordial meeting in the presence of many guests…there is nothing more to it,” Chavan told a TV channel, when asked about the meeting.</p>.<p>Although the 63-year-old repeatedly issued denials, speculations have been rife over the past couple of months that Chavan was headed to the BJP.</p>.<p>Last month, Chavan met agriculture minister Abdul Sattar, a member of the rebel Shiv Sena faction, who was a minister of state in the previous MVA government and an ex-Congressman.</p>.<p>Chavan was also one of the 11 Congress legislators absent from the Assembly on July 4, during the headcount before the trust vote was cast, which ultimately led to the downfall of the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government.</p>.<p>The 63-year-old Chavan, a veteran from Marathwada—reported to be close to the Nehru-Gandhi family—occupied several important positions including that of chief minister and state Congress president. Chavan, who was chief minister during the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government in the state, had to resign after his name got embroiled in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.</p>.<p>Chavan hails from Nanded and is the son of late Congress leader Shankarrao Chavan, a former chief minister, and ex-union minister.</p>
