NEW DELHI: In a U-turn, Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, on Saturday announced his decision not to quit the post despite the BJP‘s lackluster performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state.
His announcement came after a party meeting where state BJP legislators passed a resolution expressing their confidence in his leadership and urging him to remain the party leader.
Fadnavis clarified that his offer to resign was not driven by emotions or disappointment over the electoral setback, stating, “I am not someone who runs away. I fight back….When cornered on all sides, we can rise again with force…this is what we learn from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.”
Fadnavis said that he had met with Amit Shah in Delhi, who encouraged him to continue in his role, and he assured that he has already begun working on a strategy for the upcoming assembly elections. He attributed the ruling alliance’s underperformance to the spread of a fake narrative, which he claimed acted as a fourth opposition party alongside the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). “Fake narrative was a fourth (opposition) party in addition to the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi. We realized it after the fourth phase,” Fadnavis explained.
The BJP leader also addressed the speculation surrounding sympathy for Uddhav Thackeray, pointing out that the Shiv Sena (UBT) lost all seats in Thane and Konkan areas. He noted that in Mumbai, Marathi-speaking voters did not support Thackeray, and the party’s victory was attributed to the consolidation of votes from a particular community. Fadnavis highlighted that the BJP’s vote share remained stable compared to 2019, and the party lost 11 constituencies by a narrow margin of less than five percent votes.
Countering the Opposition’s propaganda about industrial projects being diverted to Gujarat, Fadnavis asserted that Maharashtra remained the top state in terms of industrial investment. He claimed that Gujarat and Karnataka had surpassed Maharashtra during Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure as chief minister. Fadnavis also mentioned that he had advised allies Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to ensure that party spokespersons exercise caution while speaking, acknowledging complaints of lack of coordination among the allies.
His announcement came after a party meeting where state BJP legislators passed a resolution expressing their confidence in his leadership and urging him to remain the party leader.
Fadnavis clarified that his offer to resign was not driven by emotions or disappointment over the electoral setback, stating, “I am not someone who runs away. I fight back….When cornered on all sides, we can rise again with force…this is what we learn from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.”
Fadnavis said that he had met with Amit Shah in Delhi, who encouraged him to continue in his role, and he assured that he has already begun working on a strategy for the upcoming assembly elections. He attributed the ruling alliance’s underperformance to the spread of a fake narrative, which he claimed acted as a fourth opposition party alongside the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). “Fake narrative was a fourth (opposition) party in addition to the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi. We realized it after the fourth phase,” Fadnavis explained.
The BJP leader also addressed the speculation surrounding sympathy for Uddhav Thackeray, pointing out that the Shiv Sena (UBT) lost all seats in Thane and Konkan areas. He noted that in Mumbai, Marathi-speaking voters did not support Thackeray, and the party’s victory was attributed to the consolidation of votes from a particular community. Fadnavis highlighted that the BJP’s vote share remained stable compared to 2019, and the party lost 11 constituencies by a narrow margin of less than five percent votes.
Countering the Opposition’s propaganda about industrial projects being diverted to Gujarat, Fadnavis asserted that Maharashtra remained the top state in terms of industrial investment. He claimed that Gujarat and Karnataka had surpassed Maharashtra during Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure as chief minister. Fadnavis also mentioned that he had advised allies Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to ensure that party spokespersons exercise caution while speaking, acknowledging complaints of lack of coordination among the allies.