Devendra Fadnavis is back in the saddle as Maharashtra CM

Five years after he vowed ‘Mi Punha Yein’, comeback man Devendra Fadnavis returns as chief minister, with BJP MLAs unanimously choosing him as the legislative party leader

Devendra Fadnavis’s political life has come full circle. He did return in 2019 following his poll campaign based on the tagline ‘Mi Punha Yein (I will be back)’, but subsequent political machinations kept him away from the chief minister’s office. True to his political self, he did not lose heart and spirit in those years. Maharashtra’s only second CM after Vasantrao Naik to complete a full term (2014-19) will be sworn in as the state’s 21st chief minister on Thursday. Fadnavis’ journey is nothing short of a potboiler.

Over the past ten years, he has been a constant feature, firstly as the CM who learned on the job how to run the government. Then came a three-day tenure in the top seat before he and his deputy Ajit Pawar quit in the winter of 2019, followed by a stint as a fiery Opposition leader in the Assembly. He played a vital role in displacing the Uddhav Thackeray government but couldn’t come back as the leader of the government that came into being later. He was reluctant but finally took on the job of Deputy CM in the Eknath Shinde regime, which officially ended a few days ago, only to be back in the saddle once again. It was a defining moment for him when BJP legislators’ deafening cheers on Wednesday endorsed him as the head of state.

(From left) Devendra Fadnavis, the chief minister-elect; Shiv Sena chief and caretaker CM Eknath Shinde; and NCP chief Ajit Pawar during a press conference at Raj Bhawan on Wednesday

For Fadnavis, memories of 2019 are indelible. “The people had given us a mandate in 2019 as well. But it was snatched away. The people were betrayed. In their [MVA’s] two and a half years [in power], we were troubled a lot. But in such an adverse situation, none of our MLAs defected. They struggled [against the MVA] instead. It was because of it that we came back in 2022, and now the people have given us a massive verdict,” he told MLAs after he was elected as the leader.      

The 1970-born leader will be taking oath as the CM thrice in succession as the BJP's representative on Thursday at the iconic Azad Maidan. A mammoth mandate of 137 MLAs—132 of his party’s and five from the smaller parties and independents—backed him to give Maharashtra a stable government. Ajit Pawar’s NCP (41 MLAs) and outgoing CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction (57 MLAs) have also pledged their support to him.

Fadnavis, who, at 44, became the state’s second youngest CM after Sharad Pawar, who was 38 when he first headed the state. This time around, Fadnavis beat a jinx. He is the first deputy CM to become a CM.

Gradual ascent

Hard-pressed, abused and praised, heckled and cheered in equal measure in the later stages of his political career, Fadnavis has come up step by step. He began as a city corporator at 22 in Nagpur, where he was made the first mayor-in-council at 27 in the 1990s.

Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister-elect 

The son of a BJP legislator, Gangadhar Fadnavis, he lost his father when he was not even 18. He beat the odds, worked relentlessly for the RSS and BJP and fought student union elections as he became a lawyer with a gold medal in Hindu Law. His first success in the Nagpur Assembly elections came in 1999. He hasn't lost an Assembly election ever since.

PM Narendra Modi picked a chubby but energetic Fadnavis, then state BJP president, to be the CM of a minority government in 2014. Minority it was, because Uddhav Thackeray, who had fought separately like all other parties that year, hadn’t joined the government. Thackeray’s party did join Fadnavis a month later. Before that, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP had lent outside support to the BJP. The BJP-NCP love-hate story is now part of the nation’s political folklore.
Since 2023, Pawar’s nephew Ajit has been supporting the BJP, citing his uncle’s tacit trysts with the party. Ajit will also be sworn in as Dy CM on Thursday after Fadnavis takes his oath. Fadnavis said he had urged Shinde to be part of his government. Shinde said he would let everyone know by Wednesday evening.

Words of gratitude

“Modi-ji has made a booth worker like me a CM thrice. Once, I was only there for 72 hours. But technically I was the CM. The party has changed under Modi-ji’s leadership, which gave common workers big positions,” Fadnavis said while thanking the prime minister, the party’s National President J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who, according to him, contributed a great deal to the party’s biggest win ever.
He thanked the state BJP team led by Chandrashekhar Bawankule. “I’m here because you are here,” he told the MLAs and party workers, advising them to take the alliance partners along, because the BJP worked for the larger interests. 

Fadnavis’ nomination didn’t come as quickly as expected. It came 10 days after the victory even as the BJP negotiated with Shinde. In the interim, Fadnavis’ supporters flipped through the past—his unceremonious exit in 2019 and demotion in 2022, but they hoped very strongly that the party command would do justice to their collective wish of seeing Fadnavis in the CMO yet again.

There was no visible jubilation in the streets and BJP offices, but a constant flow of MLAs, well-wishers in the party and supporters to Fadnavis’ homes in Mumbai and Nagpur, reaffirmed a feeling that denying him the top post would not be taken lightly, not just by those who wanted him to lead the ‘shat pratishat BJP in 2029 (100 per cent BJP by 2029)’ mission, but also by the RSS, which backed him like never before to take the party’s tally to 132. Add to 132 five others, and it is only eight short of the halfway mark needed to form the government on one’s own. These huge numbers will power Fadnavis’ agenda, and make allies think twice before attempting to loosen the nuts and bolts that hold the CM’s chair together.

Balancing act

In fact, it is expected of Fadnavis to be the master of alliance. His balancing act began with a visit to Shinde on Tuesday night to convince him to participate in the government. The CM-elect was gracious in requesting Shinde to lead them to the governor while submitting the claim to form the government. But then, BJP insiders feel that it was his ‘kind’ approach towards Uddhav Thackeray that had created more trouble rather than ease for him when he was the CM between 2014 and 2019. Lessons learnt. Fadnavis hardened his approach later. No wonder, in the past five years he has made more enemies than friends (a sign of a successful politician?). So, it is in this context that his third tenure will be most watched, carefully scrutinised and assessed. The poor strength of the Opposition notwithstanding.

Fadnavis, who, as a CM, is known for his flagship projects, spelt out priorities for the next tenure. He said the massive mandate had not only made them happy but more responsible. “We will have to work to continue the schemes and fulfil the promises we have given to our beloved sisters, brothers, youth, farmers, dalits, adivasis, minorities and the underprivileged. In addition, we will have to make Maharashtra number one in the country on all fronts,” he added. He invoked the Indian Constitution and its greatness, Ahliyadevi Holkar for reviving the places of worship that were destroyed by foreign invaders, Bhagwan Birsa Munda for fighting the British to preserve jal, jamin and jungle (water, land and forests) and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for conceptualising the idea of ‘Nav Bharat’ that Modi has been taking forward.    

The choice of proposers and seconders, who supported Fadnavis’ sole candidature at the party MLAs meeting showed the BJP's deep insight into social engineering. The MLAs who took up the microphone in the Central Hall of Vidhan Bhavan represented various communities.

“I assure all sections of the society that our government will work 24x7 for them,” Fadnavis said. 

132
No. of Assembly seats secured by BJP 

Shinde says he is happy to back Fadnavis

Shiv Sena president and outgoing CM Eknath Shinde said on Wednesday that he was happy to have backed Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister.

“It was here two years ago that Fadnavis backed me to be the CM. Today I’m happy that I have backed him,” he said after meeting the governor, adding that he had already expressed his support last week to the BJP’s candidate.

He said the news reports about his being unhappy were unfounded. “I speak straight. In fact, this government is being formed in a very friendly manner, and I’m happy about it. We have worked as a team, and we will continue to be a team,” he added.

He said the people’s big verdict had added to Mahayuti’s responsibility. “Fadnavis has experience working as the CM for five years and later as the DyCM for two and a half years. I congratulate him on his future journey. We assure our support to him,” he said.

Asked about his participation in the government, Shinde said he would let everybody know by evening. Earlier, Fadnavis said that he had requested Shinde to be part of his government, and he was very hopeful about it. 

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