Ashok Chavan cites 14-year 'vanvaas', says Cong must introspect about poll drubbing
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan on Friday took a swipe at his former colleagues in the Congress and said the party should introspect about its poor performance in the recent Maharashtra assembly polls.
Chavan, a former state chief minister, had quit the Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year, while his daughter Shreejaya Chavan won the November 20 assembly polls from Bhokar seat in Nanded district.
"When I headed the state (chief minister), the party won 82 seats (in 2009). After me, Prithviraj Chavan (chief minister from 2010 to 2014) brought it down to 44 and Nana Patole (state unit chief since February 2021) has now brought it down to 16 (in the 2024 assembly polls). The figures are in front of us," he said.
"Winning is a process in politics so the Congress should introspect," he added.
Chavan emphasised he was not giving advice to his former party but added "I was in 'vanvaas' for 14 long years (an apparent reference to his removal as CM) and I too have feelings".
He was CM between December 2008 and November 2010, before being replaced by Prithviraj Chavan.
Ashok Chavan was president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee between 2015 and 2019. He joined the BJP in February this year.
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Over 3000 maternal deaths in past five years in Karnataka: CMO
Bengaluru, Dec 9: There have been over 3,350 maternal deaths in the last five years in Karnataka, the Chief Minister's Office said on Monday. The fatalities have been on the decline during this period, according to data issued by the government.
The CMO's releasing the data comes in the wake of a controversy surrounding the recent maternal deaths in the state's Ballari district.
The total number of maternal deaths in the past five years stands at 3,364. An analysis of the data reveals the highest number of maternal deaths occurred during Covid-19 when the BJP was in power.
In 2019-2020, 662 maternal deaths were reported, with the number rising slightly to 714 the following year. However, the figures have since dropped, with 595 deaths recorded in 2021-2022, 527 in 2022-2023, and 518 in 2023-2024.
As of November 2024, the number of maternal deaths in the state stands at 348. Karnataka's Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) during this period stands at 64 per one lakh live births, according to the data.
On Sunday, the Karnataka government established a four-member panel to investigate the maternal deaths at Ballari Hospital and other locations across the state.
Since November, the total number of maternal deaths in Ballari has reached five.
