Devendra Fadnavis has once again emerged as the ‘Chanakya’ of Maharashtra politics, answering Sharad Pawar’s 2019 ‘googly’ with his ‘doosra’.
With Ajit Pawar’s inclusion in the state government, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra has proved to his party BJP that he can deliver results when the leadership shows faith in him.
According to a source, a recent survey of the state had indicated a ‘not so favourable’ position for the BJP in elections as MVA enjoyed an edge. It was Fadnavis who took on the task to tackle the situation and delivered by poaching none other than Ajit Pawar and other loyalists of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. With this move, Fadnavis not only settled scores with Sharad Pawar but also made it clear why he is called the ‘Chanakya’ of Maharashtra politics.
Fadnavis had to face embarrassment in 2019 when he formed the government with the help of Ajit Pawar, who was sworn in as deputy chief minister, but the regime could last only a few days. Political analysts say Fadnavis lost respect in the eyes of BJP’s central leadership due to the mess and decided to regain his stature in the party.
Hence, as Leader of Opposition, he tried to corner the MVA government — not only on the floor of the assembly but also outside. The BJP also could not ignore the key role played by Fadnavis in Eknath Shinde’s coup. Fadnavis, who never wanted any post in the Shinde cabinet, was asked to become his deputy when, in reality, he wanted to mentor the government from outside. Despite his reservations, the senior BJP leader finally toed the party line.
Considering the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP realised it would become difficult to win the maximum seats from Maharashtra as there is a sympathy wave in favour of the Uddhav Thackeray camp due to the split in the Shiv Sena. Shinde’s charisma is limited to Thane and Palghar districts which are his strongholds.
Hence, BJP felt the need for a strong face that could dent the MVA’s popularity and help it win seats from Western Maharashtra and Marathwada region. After the 2019 embarrassment, Fadnavis decided to approach Ajit Pawar again and this time, the stars were in his favour. Ajit Pawar revolted against his uncle and, on Sunday, took oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra in the Shinde-Fadnavis sarkar.
Ajit Pawar was often accused by MVA leaders of not taking an aggressive stand against the current Maharashtra government. Recently, he showed his willingness to vacate the LoP post and asked the party to give him a bigger role in the organisation.
However, if one connects the dots now, it is no surprise why Junior Pawar was soft towards the Shinde-Fadnavis duo. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule and levelled allegations of corruption against NCP while speaking about the irrigation scam. Though BJP had fought the 2014 state elections by raising the scam, surprisingly, the prime minister did not say a word against Ajit Pawar in his speech.
On June 29, in a late-night meeting between Shinde, Fadnavis and Amit Shah, Fadnavis conveyed to the Union home minister that Ajit Pawar, along with his MLAs and MPs, is ready to support the state government. Once they received the green signal from Shah, Ajit Pawar was made the second deputy chief minister of Maharashtra within 48 hours.
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