Five years after failed midnight coup, Fadnavis back in race for Maharashtra CM

Exactly five years after Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s most prominent face in Maharashtra, in a midnight coup, led a failed BJP bid to form a government in the state along with NCP leader Ajit Pawar, the Brahmin leader from Nagpur is back in the race for the state’s top post.

Not only Fadnavis is leading in his Nagpur South West constituency by a margin of over 15,000 votes, but his party too is expected to deliver its best ever tally in the state, at present leading in 124 constituencies of the total 288.

Also read: Maharashtra polls: How state leaders, RSS took the lead for BJP's campaign

In the run-up to the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP seemed cagey whenever asked about the ruling Mahayuti’s CM face, merely stating that they’re fighting the elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, but the alliance’s CM face will be decided by the Mahayuti partners once the election results are out. However, the BJP’s chief strategist, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, at times hinted at the party’s plan to have Fadnavis at the helm, as he said at an election rally, “I can see massive support for the BJP and Devendra Bhai.”

Though the BJP conceded the top post to Eknath Shinde after he raised a banner of revolt against undivided Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray back in June 2022, leading to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, it made no bones of its intention to play the role of “big brother” in the new regime. It became quite evident during the seat distribution when the BJP decided to contest 148 seats, which was more than half of the 288-member Assembly, leaving the remaining 140 for the other two alliance partners --- Shiv Sena (Shinde) and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Also read: Decisive leadership | BJP's makeover for Fadnavis as Maharashtra polls approach

The BJP high command had a tough time persuading Fadnavis to accept the post of CM Shinde’s deputy in 2022, as he had been the state’s chief minister from 2014 to 2019. Even after becoming the Deputy CM, with home portfolio, he was constantly under fire from the Opposition over the law and order issues in Maharashtra, the sensational killing of NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai being the most recent one.

Fadnavis suffered yet another jolt when the ruling Mahayuti alliance suffered a drubbing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, winning only 17 out of the 48 constituencies. The Opposition MVA emerged stronger, bagging 30 Lok Sabha seats. Taking full responsibility of the defeat, he even offered to resigns as the Deputy CM, as the BJP’s own tally dropped from 23 in 2019 to mere 9 in 2024. However, with the massive turnaround in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Fadnavis has just proved that five months is a long time in politics.