Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar flashes victory sign during a press conference
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: With back-to-back splits in Shiv Sena and NCP, three Chief Ministers (CM), three Leaders of Oppositions (LOP) -- the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has completely changed the politics in this Western Indian state.
The term of the Assembly - which came into being after the October 2019 Maharashtra polls - ended on Tuesday.
Mid-way, in June-July 2022 , the BJP managed to split the Shiv Sena founded by late Balasaheb Thackeray in 1966 leading to Shiv Sena’s control going to Eknath Shinde while Uddhav Thackeray now commands Shiv Sena (UBT).
On similar lines, in June-July 2023, the BJP inflicted a blow to the NCP founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999 resulting in Ajit Pawar taking control of NCP while his uncle now leads NCP (SP).
The five years have been the most tumultuous one with political instability throughout.
The first government lasted for 80 hours, the second involving the Maha Vikas Aghadi and third with Maha Yuti in the saddle for nearly two-and-a-half-years each.
The three CMs that the House witnessed are - Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) for barely 80 hours, Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena) for around two-and-a-half-years and incumbent Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), for the remaining two-and-a-half years.
The LOPs in Assembly include Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), Ajit Pawar (NCP) and Vijay Wadettiwar (Congress).
NCP’s Ajit Pawar created a sort of record in Indian politics by becoming the Deputy CM thrice - of his total five terms as No 2 - during the tenure of the Assembly serving under three different Chief Ministers.
Fadnavis, who was the CM and LOP, was virtually pushed by the BJP high-command to become a Deputy Chief Minister.
The two Speakers that the House saw are Nana Patole (Congress) and Rahul Narvekar (BJP).
Despite the changes in the government, the Deputy Speaker remained unchanged for five years - NCP's Narhari Zirwal.
Interestingly, coinciding with the tenure of the Assembly, the state also saw three Governors - Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Bais and incumbent C P Radhakrishnan.
Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here
Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here
Bypoll 2024 results | Check Karnataka results here
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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