'Considering to quit': Maharashtra Congress chief’s audio clip goes viral

Mumbai, Mar 23: An audio tape surfaced on Saturday where Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan is purportedly heard saying that he wanted to resign as his views on candidate selection were not being heeded by the leadership.

Chavan expressed displeasure over the selection of the candidate to contest from the Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat and said that no one in the Congress party is listening to him regarding the matter.

When asked by reporters, Chavan said he was not aware of such a tape, but conceded that there was discontent in the party regarding the choice of Vinayak Bangade as Congress candidate for the Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat.

In the audio clip which went viral, a party worker named Rajurkar from Chandrapur is heard complaining about the choice of candidate when the party is sure to win in Chandrapur.

Chavan is heard telling him to speak to Mukul Wasnik, the Congress's Central Election Committee head.

"Nobody is listening to me and I am in a mood to resign," Chavan is purportedly heard saying further.

He is also heard telling Rajurkar to ask Bangade not to contest. In the end he is heard asking Rajurkar to share Bangade's contact number.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the NCP announced their coming together with 54 other parties and organisations in Maharashtra.

The Congress and NCP will fight on 24 and 20 seats respectively. The remaining four will go to smaller parties including Raju Shetti's farmers' pressure group which was with the BJP in 2014.