Devendra Fadnavis’ catchphrase or rather declaration ‘me punha yein’ (I will be back!) - has been realised - not once but twice.
Though he had been chief minister and then Leader of Opposition and now had to settle as deputy chief minister - he is emerging stronger in the BJP.
He has managed to take the revenge for what happened in October-November 2019 when chief ministership was snatched from him by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, who crafted the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with assistance from Congress.
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Today in the Eknath Shinde-led government - he has the large components of not only the Balasaheb Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena but also Sharad Pawar-founded NCP.
The phrase - ‘me punha yein’ - had become popular during the run up to the 2019 Assembly polls in Maharashtra, when Fadnavis as chief minister toured the state.
Though Shiv Sena did not like it and NCP-Congress ridiculed him - and, it became a matter of joke and memes, he returned as CM along with Ajit Pawar as his deputy - but the government lasted for just 80 hours.
A shrewd politician and a man of patience, Fadnavis - often described as “Chanakya” - is a man of "surgical strikes".
It was on May 1, 2022 that Fadnavis and his banker-wife Amruta, appeared in a TV show. “I used to say - 'me punah yein' - looking at the response of the people (during meetings and rallies)... However, some people threw the spanner in the wheel….But let me tell you -'me punha yein'….I will come again, and for sure.”
The leader with a 'Mr Clean' image and a face of 'common man', Devendra ji, as he is popularly known, surpassed many stalwarts in Maharashtra politics.
Hailing from Nagpur, Fadnavis, a five-term MLA since 1999, and has the full backing of the RSS.
While heading the government from 2014-2019, he had punctured the Opposition and kept ally Shiv Sena in good humour.
A Brahmin in the Maratha-dominated politics of the state, he has carved a niche for himself.