"I'm Modern Abhimanyu, Know How To Break Chakravyuh": D Fadnavis On Big Win

With the BJP-led Mahayuti scoring a massive victory in the Maharashtra Assembly election, senior party leader and incumbent Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated that he is a "modern Abhimanyu who knows how to break the Chakravyuh".

The reference was to Abhimanyu, a character in epic Mahabharata. The son of Arjuna and Subdhadra, he was a warrior who knew how to enter the Chakravyuh, a maze-like military formation, but did not know how to exit it. In the epic, he was trapped and killed by Kaurava fighters.

Earlier, in September, Mr Fadnavis had said that the Opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi thinks that they will trap him in a maze. "But I am a modern Abhimanyu. I know how to get into the maze and how to exit."

Today, while speaking to the media after the Mahayuti's landslide win, he said, "I had said earlier, I am a modern Abhimanyu. I know how to break the Chakravyuh. We have broken the Chakravyuh. I have a very small contribution in this victory. Our team has won this." Mr Fadnavis has won the Nagpur South West seat. 

The BJP-led alliance has won a massive victory in Maharashtra, winning 231 seats in the 288-member Assembly. The Opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi has suffered a major setback after a stellar show in the general election and is now around the 50-seat mark.

With the BJP scoring big, all eyes are on the Devendra Fadnavis, who is being seen as a frontrunner for the Chief Minister post. In that case, incumbent and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde would have to step down. 

Asked about the Chief Minister post, Mr Fadnavis said, "There will be no dispute over the Chief Minister post. It was decided on Day 1 that after the polls, all three parties will decide this together. Whatever is decided will be acceptable to everybody."