Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and a prominent leader of the BJP, is planning to approach the party’s leadership and ask to be relieved of his duties as deputy CM. This decision comes in light of the BJP’s disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where their seat count in Maharashtra dropped significantly from 23 seats in 2019 to just nine this year.
Fadnavis, who has played a crucial role in the BJP’s leadership in the state, has taken complete responsibility for the party’s electoral setback. He expressed his desire to focus on improving the party’s performance at the organizational level for the upcoming Assembly elections. Fadnavis intends to dedicate his full time and efforts to strengthen the party’s organization. In a press conference held after a review meeting on the Lok Sabha results, he stated, “I am going to request my central leadership to release me from the responsibilities of my position in the state government.”
The gathering, which took place a day after the election results were announced, was attended by prominent BJP leaders, including Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the chief of the state unit. The main objective of the meeting was to assess the party’s performance and discuss future strategies. Despite the BJP and its allies winning 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the results were considered a significant decline compared to the 2019 elections.
In the previous Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had emerged victorious in 23 seats in Maharashtra. However, this time, the party’s performance was overshadowed by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition alliance, consisting of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). The MVA collectively secured 30 seats, indicating a substantial gain for the alliance. Congress witnessed a remarkable increase, winning 13 seats compared to just one in 2019. Shiv Sena (UBT) secured nine seats, while NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) secured eight.
On June 30, 2022, Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy chief minister in the government led by Eknath Shinde.