Maharashtra Politics: 'Shocking events in the future...', CM Fadnavis taunts Maharashtra's political upheaval; MVA cornered

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy chief ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde assumed their responsibilities at the state secretariat. After his first cabinet meeting, the CM, while talking to the media, expressed hope that the state would not see political turmoil like the last few years. He also said that the ruling coalition Mahayuti will give a stable government for the next five years.

I saw a lot of changes in about three years.

Taking a dig at the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, said, 'We have seen a lot of changes from 2019 to mid-2022. We hope that such shocking incidents will not be seen in the future.'

Ignored the delay in government formation

54-year-old Fadnavis, who took oath as CM for the third time on Thursday, aligned to the two-week delay in the process of government formation due to opposition from Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. The party wanted the top post for its chief, arguing that it was the welfare measures of his government that brought victory to the ruling coalition.

Who became CM when?

Referring to the changing nature of the posts, he said it did not make any difference to their coordination. Earlier too, he had termed the post as technical. He further said, "In the year 2014, I was the Chief Minister and Shinde was with us. In the year 2019, for 72 hours, Ajit Dada and I were Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. After that, Shinde was the Chief Minister, and Ajit Dada and I were Deputy Chief Ministers. Now I am the Chief Minister and both of them are Deputy Chief Ministers."

'Our roles have changed, but...'

He further said, "Our roles have changed but the direction is the same, the speed is the same. When you talk about the relationship between the three of us, you will not see anything different. This is a government of very fast decisions. On the occasion of the swearing-in ceremony, I say that at the speed at which Maharashtra is moving, we will not stop. We have to ensure that all decisions are taken with full deliberation, at the same pace.'

These events were described as shocking.

The 'shocking' event that Fadnavis spoke of was related to the split in the Shiv Sena by Shinde and his rebel group in 2023, which led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. He then formed a new government with the BJP. Later that year, Ajit Pawar split his uncle Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, marking the third major change in state politics, and joined the government.

The ruling coalition successfully turned its course after initial defeats during the Lok Sabha elections and won a sweeping victory in the assembly elections. Fadnavis once again said that this is a victory of good governance provided in the state and the future will be better.