Background
Chavan is son of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shankarrao Chavan and they are the first father–son duo in the state"s history to become chief ministers.
Chavan is son of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shankarrao Chavan and they are the first father–son duo in the state"s history to become chief ministers.
He graduated in Science and has obtained his Master"s in Business Management.
He earlier served as Minister for Cultural Affairs, Industries, Mines and Protocol in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government. On 9 November 2010, the Congress Party asked him to resign from office over corruption allegations. In 1992, he was elected as M.L.C to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and later joined as Minister of State for Public works, Urban Development and Home in March 1993.
In 2003, Vilasrao Deshmukh appointed Chavan as Minister for Transport, Ports, Cultural Affairs and Protocol.
In November 2004, he was given the portfolio of Industries, Mining, Cultural Affairs & Protocol in Maharashtra cabinet. He was the General Secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee from 1995 to 1999.
After winning assembly elections in 2009, Congress President Sonia Gandhi named Ashok Chavan as next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Congress had clearly plumped for a Maratha to lead the party in the state, and had ignored the NCP view that a non-Maratha should be selected for the position to set right the social combination.
As a result, NCP chose a non-Maratha, Chhagan Bhujbal to occupy the deputy Chief Minister"s post and gave the home ministry to Jayant Patil.
The latter being a Maratha balanced the NCP"s own bid to remain the community"s first choice. Chavan was asked to resign as Chief Minister during a meeting with Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, after it emerged that three of his relatives owned apartments in a government housing society that was created specifically to house Indian war veterans in the upmarket Colaba area of Mumbai. Despite the corruption allegations, the Congress party put him up as a party candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.
In Maharashtra, Rajiv Satav and Chavan were the only Congress candidates elected.
In 2015 he took over as the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee
His wife"s name is Ameeta Chavan-Sharma. Chavan"s father, Shankarrao Chavan had also been chief minister of Maharashtra.
He is the President of Sai Sevabhavi Trust Nanded, a charitable voluntary organisation. Apart from the much discussed Adarsh Housing Society Scam, Ashok Chavan was accused of using his office to fund his relatives" bank.
In 2009 Assembly Elections, he was accused of hiding expenses on a paid supplement titled Ashok Parva in a leading Marathi daily.
However, He denied the allegation by the Election Commission of India of having inserted favourable Paid News in newspapers.
He started his political career as General Secretary, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Sharad Pawar, the leader of rival cum partner NCP party, had been lukewarm towards Chavan, after his first choice of union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was ignored well before the race began.
In 1987-1988, he was elected as Member of Parliament from Nanded Lok Sabha constituency.