Fadnavis 2.0: The Return is Historic, But Challenges are Bigger

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bharadwaj

Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis - an ABVP and Yuva Morcha member as a teenager, elected a corporator at the age of 21 and the youngest mayor of Nagpur at 27 - the staunch RSS man from Nagpur has stormed back to power after the BJP's historic win in Maharashtra, sealing his position as one of the the tallest leaders of the state in the past few decades.

The BJP managed to bag 105 seats compared to 2014's 122, while the Sena managed to retain 56, compared to 2014's 63.

Though the BJP has returned with lesser number of seats than 2014, Fadnavis' return to power is historic in more than one way. He is now the only second Brahmin CM of the state in Maratha dominated politics, the only second chief minister to have completed a full five year term and the only chief minister to have led the NDA back to power for a second consecutive term.

Devendra Fadnavis’ rise in the party and within the state is both appreciated and frowned upon by his party colleagues and rivals in Opposition. How has Fadnavis risen to the stature that he has today?

Maratha Reservation Didn’t Translate to Votes

Marathas, who have always dominated farming, co-operative and political sectors, were demanding reservation for decades. After frequent Maratha protests that brought lakhs belonging to the community on the streets, Fadnavis passed a bill to give them 16 percent reservation in jobs and education.

Fadnavis became that Brahmin chief minister who, according to many Marathas, gave them what the previous Maratha CMs did not, but nevertheless, that sentiment doesn’t seem to have converted to votes as the BJP’s performance was dismal in Maratha dominated areas like Marathwada, northern and western Maharashtra.

Sharad Pawar's NCP, on the other hand, performed very well in these regions with all the top NCP stalwarts emerging victorious.

Clipped Sena’s Wings, Will it Backfire Now?

Shiv Sena, the bickering junior ally even fought the BMC elections separately, but despite the BJP winning just one seat less than the Sena in a historic mandate, Fadnavis decided to let go of the reins of the BMC.

Just before the Lok Sabha polls, Amit Shah intervened to convince the Sena to fight together. But come the Vidhan Sabha chunaav, Fadnavis not only single-handedly managed to negotiate the seat-sharing formula with the Sena, but this has been the lowest-ever number of seats that the Shiv Sena has contested, crediting Fadnavis with keeping the 'elder brother' status of the BJP intact.

But now with BJP’s reduced numbers, the Sena has already started touting a 50-50 power share formula and is reportedly eyeing the CM or Deputy CM’s post. The friction is apparent immediately after the declaration of results.

The Reducing Relevance of Rivals Within BJP

In 2014, Gadkari, Eknath Khadse and Gopinath Munde's daughter, Pankaja Munde were also in the race to be the chief minister.

While Gadkari's appointment in Modi's Cabinet avoided that clash back then, Pankaja Munde on many public occasions did hint at her disappointment. In 2015, Pankaja made a comment saying she was glad to be the CM in 'people's eyes'.

In the Cabinet reshuffle of 2016, Pankaja was stripped off of two important portfolios — water conservation and employment guarantee scheme. As far as Eknath Khadse is concerned, one of the oldest leaders since the party's foundation and a six-time lawmaker from Jalgaon, he wasn't even given a ticket this time.

Whatever may be the reasons, personal or political, the fall of his contemporaries within the party has made Fadnavis rise as the supreme power centre of the Maharashtra BJP.

‘Claims’ of Resolving Farm Issues

Yes, 'claims', because according to RTI data, 14,000 farmers have killed themselves in the past four-and-a-half years. Despite announcing loan waivers worth Rs 34,000 in 2017, the #KisanLongMarch, where farmers walked from across the state to Mumbai with bleeding feet, made national headlines in 2018.

Fadnavis agreed to most of their demands but the implementation is questionable. However, the lack of a strong Opposition to raise these issues, along with Fadnavis' smart marketing of the "historic schemes", has created a different impression of the matter altogether.

With the Modi-Shah style of campaigning, Fadnavis over the years, has gone from a level-headed campaigner to openly attacking the Congress, and promoting nationalism and Article 370 in poll campaigns. But if we go by the results, the tactic doesn’t seem to have gone down well with the people, especially in Marathwada and rural Maharashtra.

Fadnavis has returned, but now the challenges are bigger. The Sena is getting more aggressive than before, the rise in his stature has made him answerable for the loss of seats, and now, the resistance from rivals within the party might become even more difficult to handle.