Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during his nomination rally ahead of the state Assembly elections, in Nagpur.
Credit: PTI Photo
Nagpur: Hailing ‘Apla Amcha Deva Bhau’, the BJP on Friday launched a massive show of strength in Nagpur with a very clear mission to win more than 100 seats to ensure that the next triple-engine Maha Yuti government is formed smoothly with the saffron party in the driver’s seat.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is popularly known as 'Deva Bhau' - who calls the shots in Maharashtra BJP - and is also the architect of the BJP-led Maha Yuti which includes the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
A Brahmin in the Maratha-dominated politics, Fadnavis has risen from the ranks from being a Corporator to a Mayor to the Chief Minister and the Leader of Opposition. His late father Gangadharrao Fadnavis was an MLC.
Fadnavis also launched scathing attacks at the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Before filing his nomination form, Fadnavis visited Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari's residence and sought his blessings.
Thereafter, the two BJP stalwarts hailing from the RSS hub of Nagpur, went to offer tributes to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue at the Samvidhan Square, which was followed by a roadshow from there till Akashvani square. He then filed the nomination papers from the Nagpur South West seat - seeking a sixth term as an MLA.
Two sitting BJP MLAs - Mohan Mate from Nagpur South and Krishna Khopde from Nagpur East - also filed their nominations at the Nagpur district Collectorate.
State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule accompanied Fadnavis and the two other nominees.
In 2014, the alliance between the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena broke and they contested separately silimilar to what the Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP did following the split in the Democratic Front. However, the BJP won 122 seats under Fadnavis’ leadership and immediately got support from Pawar to become the Chief Minister. In a couple of months, the Shiv Sena joined the government - but things soured again as an agitated Thackeray rebelled after the post of Deputy Chief Minister and other important portfolios were not given to them.
The BJP managed to win only 105 seats in 2019, and Sharad Pawar seized the opportunity to craft the MVA. Fadnavis became the Chief Minister along with NCP’s Ajit Pawar - however, the government collapsed within 80 hours. It took two-and-a-half years for the BJP to return to power but Fadnavis had to settle for the Deputy Chief Minister post.
Now the message is very clear - to win 100 plus seats by contesting around 150 seats to ensure a smooth government formation.
The Lok Sabha poll results came as a jolt to Fadnavis, and in the past couple of months, he has attempted consolidation.
Fadnavis blames Patole, Kedar for trying to stall Ladki Bahin Yojana
Addressing a huge gathering of supporters, Fadnavis accused Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole and senior leader Sunil Kedar of attempting to stall the Mukhya Mantri Ladki Bahin Yojana, the flagship scheme of the Maha Yuti government. "I won't talk about the opposition parties as our Ladki Bahin is enough to teach them a lesson. Congress leaders Sunil Kedar and Nana Patole even tried to stop the Ladki Bahin Yojana by filing a petition in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court,” he said.
Fadnavis added that the government changed the picture of Vidarbha through several projects, including the Gosikhurd irrigation projects, development of Nagpur and Amravati airport and other works.
Congress fields OBC candidate against Fadnavis
The Congress has fielded Praful Gudadhe Patil from the Nagpur South West seat against Devendra Fadnavis, who is a five-time sitting MLA. Gudadhe hails from the Kunbi (OBC) community. In 2024, Gudadhe, who is active in Nagpur politics, lost to Fadnavis.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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