India, May 31 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named its Dombivli legislator and a Maratha leader Ravindra Chavan as the state president, seeking to hold sway on the crucial Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The party's present state president and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Banwakule made this announcement at a meeting in Ahilyanagar recently, although union home minister Amit Shah had also indicated the move in Nanded last week.

"A formal announcement is expected from the party's leadership in next few days," Bawankule said at the function in Ahilyanagar.

MMR is crucial to BJP's expansion plans for Maharashtra. The area is the state's biggest urban conglomeration with eight municipal corporations. It has about 67 of 288 ass...