Devendra Fadnavis is the new Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister– here’s all you need to know about the BJP leader

Devendra Fadnavis' Mi punha yein (I will come back) statement made during the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election campaign gained significance again, even though he has been demoted.

Pic Courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: A two-time Maharashtra Chief Minister BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday (June 30) stumped everyone with his announcement of the new state CM– Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde. Hours after Fadnavis announced he will not be a part of the Shinde government, the BJP top brass declared he will take charge as the Maharashtra Deputy CM. With BJP chief JP Nadda's declaration, the 51-year-old BJP leader along with the new Maharashtra CM took oath at Raj Bhavan. 

Who is Devendra Fadnavis, the new Maharashtra Deputy CM?

Devendra Fadnavis comes from a middle-class family in Nagpur. He has a degree in law, a post graduate degree in business management and a diploma in project management, as per PTI. In 1992, he was elected as the corporator in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, which marked the beginning of his political career. Fadnavis served as the Nagpur mayor twice, the second youngest to hold the post. The BJP leader is a five-time MLA from Nagpur southwest constituency. 

Fadnavis has been credited with major wins for the BJP in Maharashtra. In the recently concluded Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections in Maharashtra, he delivered major victories for the saffron party. At the national level, in Bihar and Goa Assembly polls where he was the party observer, Fadnavis has been a crucial asset for the party. Moreover, Maharashtra BJP has progressed at the grassroots level, winning rural and urban local bodies under his leadership. 

Fadnavis' Mi punha yein (I will come back) statement made during the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election campaign gained significance again this year, even though he has been demoted. 

Devendra Fadnavis served as the Maharashtra chief minister for a full five years term from 2014 to 2019. After the 2019 Assembly elections, following the fall-out with Shiv Sena, Fadnavis was sworn-in as the state CM again with the support of a bunch of NCP MLAs led by Ajit Pawar. However, he had to resign within three days due to lack of numbers, making his government the shortest in Maharashtra's history. 

After taking oath as Shinde’s Deputy today, Devendra Fadnavis has become the fourth Maharashtra politician who took a junior position in a government after having served as chief minister.

(With agency inputs)