Formation of Maharashtra

On the eve of the formation of the new State of Maharashtra, the late Pandit Pant, who was then the Union Home Minister, told Parliament: "Mr. Chavan by his suave and understanding attitude towards all problems and classes has not only maintained but further raised the standard of efficiency of the State of Bombay. The repu­tation that it had has been enhanced in every respect."

Soon thereafter Chavan faced a crucial test—the by-election to Parliament from the Baramati Constituency in the Poona District. Many eyes were turned in that direction. The sceptics asked: Did the Chief Minister have his hands on the pulse of the masses or did he foot the Congress High Command in his zeal for creating the Marathi State ? Chavan accepted the challenge. He toured the constituency front village to village and explained to the people what the Congress had done. The Opposition pooh-poohed his claim and accused him of having paid a very heavy price for splitting the State—the grant of the Dangs and Rs. 50 crores to Gujarat! The Samyukta ­Maharashtra Samiti was confident of winning the seat, but the Congress candidate topped the poll by a margin of thirty-thousand votes. Moreover, in every village he secured a majority. Personally it was a great triumph for Chavan. Into the anaemic M.P.C.C. it infused a new life. Suddenly Chavan became a hero. In his praise pawadas (ballads) began to be sung. He was hailed as another Shivaji.

Firm and Assertive

As the years rolled on Chavan's leadership became more and more acceptable to the people; he also began to be firmer and more assertive in its execution. He was no longer the hesitant young man that he was when he took over the administration from Mr. Morarji Desai; the earlier indecisiveness gave place to stricter display of self-confidence. True, by his charm and sweet-reasonableness he has won over most critics, but he also showed that he could be ruthless when he wanted to be. All in all, Chavan has an alert mind with a quick grasp of the essential. Business-­like, non-pompus, hard-working—he works on an average 16 hours a day—he listens to all but does what he thinks best. He does not encourage loose talk and never allows others to formulate his opinion for him either about men or affairs.