Opinion | The Rise And Rise Of Devendra Fadnavis

"Mera paani utarte dekh kinare par ghar mat bana lena, main samandar hoon, laut kar vapis aaunga" ("Don't build a house on my shore after seeing my water receding. I am the ocean; I will come back"). In December 2019, Devendra Fadnavis cited this couplet in the Maharashtra Assembly after Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, contrary to the popular mandate, deserted their decades-old 'original' ally, the BJP, and joined hands with traditional rivals Congress and NCP to secure the Chief Minister's post.
Fadnavis' words proved prophetic. What he said on the floor of the House five years ago, in the face of “betrayal” by an ally, reflected his resolve, self-belief, and tremendous grit. Within the next two years, he ensured the downfall of the Uddhav Thackeray government. The fall was officially attributed to the “inner contradictions” in ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi. Anyone who followed the turn of events could easily see how it unfolded.

In Eknath Shinde, who led the rebellion against the Uddhav-led Sena, Fadnavis and the BJP found a trusted ally. Shinde was later joined by Sharad Pawar's nephew, Ajit Pawar.

To Fadnavis's credit, he put aside his ego following the central leadership's nudge to become Deputy Chief Minister. Despite having served as Chief Minister for five years with an excellent track record, he allowed Shinde to assume the chief minister's position for the long-term benefit of the state and his party. Later, he quietly accepted Ajit Pawar's induction as another Deputy Chief Minister.

The governance over the next two-and-a-half years, under the leadership of  Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar, yielded high dividends. It led to a landslide victory in the recently concluded assembly polls, sweeping aside the Congress, the Shiv Sena UBT and the NCP-SP alliance. With the BJP securing 132 seats on its own, achieving a strike rate of nearly 90 percent in the 288-member assembly, Fadnavis, as the face of the BJP in the state, was naturally seen as the most suitable person to lead the government.

As Chief Minister from 2014-2019 and as Deputy Chief Minister since mid-2022, Fadnavis proved to be an effective administrator. During this time, he also emerged as a master strategist and a mass campaigner. He demonstrated that his identity as a Brahmin was not a political handicap in Maratha-dominated Maharashtra.

It is important to note that in the rather smooth transition, the naming of Fadnavis as the next Chief Minister of India's most industrialised state, the role played by Eknath Shinde deserves mention. The assembly results showed that Shinde has now become a mass leader in his own right. It is he, not Uddhav and Aditya Thackeray, who rose from the streets of Mumbai as a Sena worker and is the rightful claimant to Bal Thackeray's legacy.

More importantly, the dignity Shinde displayed during a press conference last week, when he practically declared that he was not a claimant to the Chief Minister's post, demonstrated his respect for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as his leaders, just as he was the leader of BJP workers. By doing so, he sent the message that, unlike Uddhav Thackeray, he was not chasing a post and was committed to the ideology of Sena's founder while taking a pragmatic approach. In the public's mind, he elevated his position.

Ajit Pawar had already indicated that Fadnavis was acceptable to him as Chief Minister. As promised before the assembly election, top leaders of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP sat together and settled the most challenging task—deciding who would be Chief Minister.

From being elected as a municipal corporator at the age of 22 to becoming the youngest Mayor of Nagpur at 27, and later the second youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2014, Fadnavis, who entered politics as an ABVP activist, has achieved many milestones. At 54, he is still considered young in political terms.

Regarding his future, it is worthwhile to quote what he said at a public rally during the run-up to the parliamentary elections in April-May this year: "Baaz ki asli udaan abhi baaki hai, iradon ki abhi imtihan abhi baaki hai; arrey abhi to naapi hai mutthi bhar Sameep mein, abhi poora aasmaan baaki hai" ("The eagle is yet to fly, the intentions are yet to be tested. Just a small parcel of land has been measured, the entire sky is left yet").

(The author is Consulting Editor, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author