Mumbai, Dec 5 (UNI) Devendra Fadnavis, who took oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time on Thursday, is considered the real architect of the BJP-led Mahayuti's(Grand Alliance) sweeping victory in the just-concluded state assembly elections.
After a chequered public life of nearly 40 years, Fadnavis seems to have reached the summit of his career so far, as he has the backing of a strong BJP, only a few seats short of an absolute majority of its own, and a weakened opposition after the Mahayuti tsunami that swept aside all opposiion in the Assembly election.
Statistically, this is the 54-year-old leader's third chief ministerial stint after two diametrically contrasting tenures. While he completed a five-year term in the hot seat between 2014 and 2019, the second in November 2019, lasted only five days - the shortest tenure for any chief minister of Maharashtra.
However, the challenges before the Nagpur-born Marathi Brahmin leader lie in the political ambition of the big guns in his government and issues like Maratha reservation and agrarian distress, which could well test his fabled composure and considerable man management skills.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his loyalists have never really been shy of spelling out his ultimate political aim of occupying the coveted chair of the chief minister. though the BJP's strong numbers and the coalition arithmetic stand as a deterrence against any such machinations on the part of the NCP chief - the nephew of the wily Maratha Sharad Pawar - in the short term.
However, Ajit Pawar has already earned a "reputation" for making and breaking alliances and switching sides, and his moves on the leaderboard could be worth watching in the long run.
But more than Ajit Pawar, it is his fellow deputy CM Eknath Shinde who could give Fadnavis some anxious nights as the days pass. Shinde, who broke the undivided Sena and rose to become the chief minister with the backing of the BJP to usher in the first Mahayuti dispensation, was keen to reprise the role this time too. The government formation got delayed reportedly because Shinde was loathe to let go of the CM's chair.
After he was persuaded to give off his claim to the top post, Shinde had been reportedly left sulking. Going by the reports, It has taken much cajoling on the part of the BJP leadership to mollify Shinde and get him to swap places with Fednavis. Having been the "first among equals" in the previous government, it remains to be seen how and whether he manages to settle into a lesser role this time around.
Apart from the possible human frailties, the issue of the Maratha reservation is far from dead. Reservation activists like Jarange Patil have never given any indication that the movement is over and cannot be revived. The courts have also not said the last word on the issue. The issue could be sprung back to life in the not-so-distant future. In such a scenario, Fadnavis needs to use all his political acumen to arrive at a solution to the vexed issue, or at least ensure things do not spiral out of his hands.
The crisis faced by the farmers in the state due to water scarcity, which has led to long years of agrarian distress, presents another tough ask before Fadnavis. A lot of experts in the past have rued that Maharashtra lacks a proper water management and water governance policy. The issue presents a big test for Fadnavis in consolidating the mass support behind his government.
Fadnavis, who began his political career as a corporator from Nagpur Municipal Corporation at the young age of 22 and five years later, set the record of becoming the youngest mayor of the city, has the honour of being the first and only BJP chief minister of the western state. He is known as a facourite of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is being credited with having played a significant role behind the scenes in shaping the Mahayuti's victory.
Fadnavis's father Gangadharrao Fadnavis was a prominent RSS leader, and no less a person than senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari has publicly hailed him as a 'political guru'.
Fadnavis, who saw his father being arrested during the Emergency In the mid-1970s, is known for his deep antipathy towards late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, during whose regime the Emergency was clamped.
It is also said that Fadnavis refused to study in the Indira Convent School named after Indira Gandhi, and completed his primary and secondary education at Saraswati Vidyalaya.
UNI Team SSP