Former minister and four-time Dombivli MLA Ravindra Chavan was unanimously elected as the Maharashtra state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, replacing Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule in a key leadership shift ahead of crucial municipal elections.
The announcement was made by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who is overseeing the BJP’s organisational polls in Maharashtra as the party’s central observer. Chavan’s appointment as the 12th state BJP president comes at a critical juncture, with local body elections expected later this year.
A close confidant of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chavan had been serving as the working president of the state BJP since January. Despite his previous cabinet experience—including stints as Minister of State in the Fadnavis government (2016-2019) and as Public Works Minister under Eknath Shinde—Chavan was not inducted into the council of ministers when the Mahayuti alliance formed the government last December.
Rijiju praised Chavan’s long service in the party, noting his vital role in expanding the BJP’s footprint in Mumbai’s metropolitan region and the Konkan belt over the past decade. Chavan’s unanimous election followed the party’s internal process of district and mandal-level appointments, Chief Minister Fadnavis said, adding that the Mumbai BJP unit will soon elect a new president in consultation with state leaders.
Chavan’s political journey began in the early 2000s with the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). He quickly climbed the ranks, becoming Kalyan district youth wing vice president in 2002, corporator in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in 2007, and winning the Dombivli assembly seat in 2009. He has since secured four consecutive assembly victories, most recently in 2024.
Known for his organisational acumen, Chavan was instrumental in the BJP’s expansion into semi-urban areas like Karjat, Badlapur, and Matheran, and was credited for behind-the-scenes negotiations during the formation of the Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis government in 2022.
As state BJP president, Chavan’s experience in both organisational and legislative spheres is expected to play a decisive role in the party’s strategy for upcoming civic polls.
