Ashok Chavan offers to step down as Maharashtra Cong chief

Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan on Saturday offered to resign from his post following the debacle of the party in the Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to ANI, Chavan said, "We all ought to submit our resignation to the Congress President. As for me, I have submitted my resignation and now it is up to Rahul Gandhi to take a call on whatever reshuffle and changes he wants to make. We fully authorise the Congress President to take a call on this."

On being asked who should take responsibility for Congress' dismal performance in the general elections, Chavan said, "Rahul Gandhi is not to be blamed for what happened in the Lok Sabha polls. He is the leader of our party and I do not endorse that he is responsible for this debacle in polls. It is the collective responsibility of all people like us, who are heading the party in various states."

Chavan also said he will soon meet Gandhi to discuss the performance of the party in Maharashtra.

In the recently-conducted polls, Chavan lost to BJP's Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar by a margin of 40,000 votes from Nanded seat.

Congress managed to win just one out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra with candidates like former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Mumbai unit chief Milind Deora losing in their respective seats.

BJP-Shiv Sena coalition swept the polls in Maharashtra, managing to win 41 seats together. NCP managed to retain its tally from 2014 by winning five seats while one seat went to AIMIM.

Congress' chiefs of party units in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha too have offered to resign from their post accepting responsibility for Congress' poor performance.