Devendra Fadnavis

Fadnavis became deputy chief minister of the state after an interesting turn of events in Maharashtra politics in November 2022 when Eknath Shinde was made the chief minister after toppling the Uddhav Thakrey-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Fadnavis would also justifiably see the developments as sweet revenge after the power play following the 2019 hung results that had spectacularly boomeranged on him — in a night of skullduggery executed to perfection by NCP chief Sharad Pawar. After the BJP, with 105 MLAs, lost ally Sena and power to its alliance with the Congress and NCP, neither of whom got more than half its seats, the knives had been out for Fadnavis.

Born on July 22, 1970, in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis hails from a politically active family. He started his political career at a young age and quickly worked his way up through the ranks of the BJP, serving in various roles within the party, including the president of the Maharashtra BJP from 2013 to 2014.

In October 2014, Fadnavis became the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, leading the first BJP-led government in the state. As Chief Minister, he faced numerous challenges and focused on addressing key issues such as agriculture, infrastructure, urban development, and social welfare.

Fadnavis' tenure as Chief Minister was not without challenges. His government faced criticism on various fronts, including issues of farmer distress, unemployment, and inadequate relief measures during severe droughts.

After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, Fadnavis served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state legislature, continuing to play a vital role in Maharashtra's politics. His astute political strategies and effective articulation of the party's positions earned him respect within the BJP and across party lines.

In 2013, the BJP leadership had appointed Fadnavis as the Maharashtra party president in the run-up to the 2014 elections. Under Fadnavis’ leadership, the BJP had won 133 of the state Assembly’s total 288 seats even though it had then fought the polls alone since its alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had broken following their differences on the seat-sharing formula. This was the BJP’s highest tally in the Assembly following which the BJP top brass led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Fadnavis as the party’s CM face. Soon afterwards, the Sena returned to join the BJP-led ruling alliance under CM Fadnavis that continued till 2019.